How I Motivate People To Enter The Care Industr y Through Further Education

By Sharon Mangoma,

The application process was easier than I initially thought Having no formal teacher training I was concerned this would be a barrier to entering teaching - however after seeing a job advert for a lecturer role that only needed sector experience I decided to apply and gained qualifications on the job

Having this real-world experience I can tell stories that bring the subject to life in my classes which I find especially helpful when teaching a vocational course where there is a shared passion for what the learners are doing Particularly with parts of the course that require learners to think about the dignity of the care receiver it’s been hugely beneficial to lean on my experience lives through teaching whilst still working in your career I ve been teaching for 16 years and plan to continue teaching once a week when I retire Additionally, I currently mentor another teacher in the Health and Social Care sector one day a week

Further Education teaching also gives me the flexibility to pursue other passions and interests I like being active in my local community and I currently care for my elderly neighbour with weekly meals and regular check-ins I’ve also got plans to start a coffee club to connect all my elderly neighbours when the weather gets better – both of which I m able to do around my full-time teaching role

I worked in Health and Social Care for 14 years as a Care Assistant Manager for Westminster and Suffolk County Council, but after spraining my back, my ability to carry out the physical elements of my job sadly declined Still wanting to work in the industry, I began working in a care home where I recognised the need for better training in some of the candidates I was interviewing for jobs

I became passionate about being part of improving the training on offer and decided to pursue a Further Education teaching career in Health and Social Care using the valuable skillset gained from my years working in the field

It was actually my Ghanaian Business Marketing tutors from Westminster College that initially inspired me to go into teaching As a young African girl in a foreign country, it was really important to see that representation in person I also had a teacher at university tell me that I should be a teacher - it’s funny how teachers plant these seeds without you knowing

I truly believe that to be a great Further Education teacher, above all you have to be caring As a carer you can see a lot of people who want to go into the sector have been informed by their social care real life experience You have to take this into account as a teacher so I do mental and physical health checks every day to make sure they are in the right place to learn and help to look after them

Further Education teaching is currently my full-time role although there are plenty of opportunities to teach part-time so you can change

If you re after a job where every day is different and you get incredible job satisfaction, Further Education teaching is a wonderful route to explore When you see a student understand what you’ve taught you don t need your manager telling you that you ve done a good job - you see the result in practice I now walk into a hospital and can see one of my students in scrubs and my local GP surgery has one of my students now as a doctorate student which is incredibly rewarding to know I m helping shape the next generation

Visit gov uk/teach-in-further-education to find out how to begin teaching in Further Education You can also contact the Teach in Further Education support service for personalised advice on how your skills could lead to opportunities within Further Education - details can be found on the website