Working as a plumbing lecture

[Matt0029]

I guess volunteering to teach on an evening to get an idea if I liked it would be the way to go before giving up my day job.

 

[Stigster]

From my perspective, the educational qualifications now required to teach / assess a subject are not insignificant and are generally at a higher level that the trade qualification required. In essence, an understanding and knowledge of eduction practice is valued more highly than the trade skills you are teaching. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that.

That was a fantastic post! To follow on a little on the subject I have quoted from you, I think I can give a little input. Although I hold a different teaching qualification to the one you mentioned (things are often done slightly differently here in Guernsey in comparison with the UK) the principles of education will be the same.

The teacher training focuses on a few main areas at level 3 and goes more in depth at level 4 as one would expect.

The main areas, all relating to the student, are:

Initial Assessment e.g. Finding out a learner's current knowledge before they start, their level of experience if any, their learning style or preference (Auditory, visual, practical hands on) their ability levels, their expectations for the course or qualification, what will be expected of them, ground rules, where they see themselves in future, that kind of thing.

Formative Assessment e.g. As a student is working through a task, how they are managing, any gaps in knowledge needed to be filled to complete the task, how they are coping, do they need more support, what they might need to improve or focus on to achieve and using your peers for formative assessment and feedback.

Summative Assessment e.g. Looking at the finished article, marking, feedback, areas of strength and weakness "uncovered" by the task being completed, resubmissions where the agreed/expected standard was not met, praise, what went right, what went wrong (feedback) and progression.

The teacher training also focuses on various teaching methods for example, demonstration, question and answer, handouts/online resource links, competition, assignments, research tasks.

You will be expected to have a good understanding of these methods, how and when to deploy them, their advantages and limitations, how students of different types and abilities might react to or benefit from the various methods and justifying why you chose those methods.

Then there is all the stuff about equality and diversity, how you will tailor a course to the individual and their special needs if any. Nobody must be excluded from learning because of these things, all within reason of course. For example if the job/course entails climbing around scaffolds and wind turbines a wheelchair user could not be reasonably accommodated but every effort must be made, again within "good reason" with regards to cost and practicalities.

There is also a lot of focus on lesson planning for group activities, individual activities, tailoring lessons to suit individuals, risk assessment, how and why you will use various methods and when. You must state objectives and desired learner outcomes in your planning and how you will achieve that using your methods.

Finally just like plumbing there are a lot of education specific terms and language used which you need to get to grips with to get by but that is all part of the progression and training in becoming a teacher.


As you can see, there is nothing plumbing trade specific in there. It is all about methods of teaching. It means that - up to a point - one teacher can teach another's subject or at least transition more smoothly. Educating people is most certainly a trade in its own right. The subjects change and the individual methods change but overall teaching is done within a framework that is transferable between subjects.

I hope this helps those to understand a bit more about the subject of teaching. I'd like to finish by saying that before I undertook my Level 3 Award in Education and Training I had no idea about any of this. I finished the course with nothing but the utmost respect for teachers and what they do to get there.

 

[Dan]

Just FYI we are also looking for teachers.

PlumbersForums.net looking for Forum Mentors to help Trainees Pass Their Grades > Plumbing Advice - PlumbersForums.net

Find PlumbersForums.net looking for Forum Mentors to help Trainees Pass Their Grades Advice and Help. How-to PlumbersForums.net looking for Forum Mentors to help Trainees Pass Their Grades in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board advice boards on PlumbersForums.net | Plumbing Advice for All...

www.plumbersforums.net

Would look good on a CV saying you're a forum mentor with the UKs largest plumbing advice outlet.

But aside of that, makes you feel warm and fussy inside.

 

[chris watkins]

Why is this teaching not allowed in FE colleges now?

Maybe in the Channel islands they still have a good education system but here is the reality in an English FE college - you will be plonked in front of a class of up to 32 learners with not enough time to prepare let alone assess

their level of experience if any, their learning style or preference (Auditory, visual, practical hands on) their ability levels

they will often struggle with basic English & Maths, as the entry requirement of C & above is ignored. Having been failed by their secondary schools, the colleges are required to pick up the pieces & get them to that minimum standard. Don't even ask about the Prevent program which also includes such delights as - British Values, Equality & Diversity.

Can you imagine a workshop with 30+ of the little darlings trying to solder or pull a set, how much time would you be ably to spend with them ?? The max should be around 12 IMHO & even then you will be working hard, what happens if you are not getting round to see them all ?

Same in the class rooms they will want you to pay lip service to all the Eduspeak crap mentioned & you will spend lots of time providing data for the Offcom inspections but with qualifications that are not fit for purpose where there is not enough time to get through the subject matter and you maybe get a reality check on what it is like to teach Plumbing & Heating.

All that said I still love it. (just not in an FE college where you are not allowed to)

 

[Stigster]

All you have said is true and one of the main reasons the full-time lecturer I work with came to Guernsey. He was previously teaching in the UK after 20 years of site work before that.

The money is much better here too. A lecturer starting from the beginning with no qualifications starts on around £45,000 and it tops out around £60,000 for a program leader. Technicians top out at £40,000. You've got to remember as good as those wages sound, we are comparable to London in house prices, rents and general cost of living. Plus we are a captive market for the air and sea links so travelling away is also very expensive. Still a good living to be made though.

We also "pick up the pieces" of the so called school failures but in this FE college we do have the support for these students in place. Any student who manages to get a job is able to join the course. If they do not have grade C or above in GCSE Maths and English they do an additional class every week to gain those qualifications and get their practical maths and writing skills up to standard.

Class sizes are maximum 12 people but 6 to 8 are more usual. We have plenty of time to teach and prepare properly, especially as the lecturer has my support backed my qualifications.

The college and the apprenticeship scheme the government runs is not for profit, it is solely for the betterment of the community. The only cost to the apprentice or employer is yearly registration which is around £40 I think. The employer is paid an annual grant to make it more attractive to take apprentices on. That way the student can be paid their normal rate for their day at college without loss to the employer.

Long may it continue this way.

 

[chris watkins]

Sounds idilic, the way it should be.

 

[Stigster]

We have the occasional fight with the politicians about it all, with the dreaded "Why do we do it like this? They don't do it like that in the UK!" heard from time to time. Fortunately for us some of our politicians went through the apprenticeship scheme themselves and know the value of it and yet more of them are able to see the value of the scheme. It has been running since the 1960s, works very well so there's no need to change it.

That does not stop overzealous newcomers from questioning the expense but so far we have had little interference, apart from when last year it was announced the scheme would be extended to other areas like retail and a host of other non-traditional apprenticeship areas but without increasing the funding.

The employers were to have their grants massively reduced but the industry went bananas, threatened to stop hiring/sending apprentices or would just train them themselves. Thankfully the government saw sense and "delayed" any changes to the grant so all is OK.....for now.

I get the feeling funding issues will rear their ugly head again in future but we're alright for the foreseeable.

 

[Matt0029]

Seen another job advertised for lecturering does anyone know if you usually start on the bottom of the pay scale. There is a 10k difference in pay scale