New teachers needed at Hull College after huge growth

The college, which has been on a transformational upward trajectory over the past two-and-a-half years, has seen increased numbers of young people and adults join across many curriculum areas this year.

Student recruitment has surpassed the college target by 20 per cent, with more than 6,000 learners now studying and training there.

Demand has been so high that, for the first time in its history, Hull College has had to put over 200 students on waiting lists.

Now, it has launched a high-profile campaign to recruit lecturers and skills coaches, including directly from industry, in areas such as Health and Social Care, Accountancy, Electrical Engineering, Plumbing and Carpentry.

It is highlighting the numerous benefits of a career teaching at Hull College, including:

• Excellent salary, pension and annual leave package
• Training and professional development plan
• Flexible working
• Health plan
• Mental and physical health support
• Additional incentives such as free breakfast every day and discounted gym membership.

Staff at Hull College also enjoy the job satisfaction of training and developing the next generation of workers in their field.

In total, the college is looking to recruit 18 new staff who “care deeply” over the next few months.

CEO and Principal Debra Gray said: “We make a difference here, every single day.

“There are thousands of people we’ve helped who now have a better life than they would have had without us.

“When people come here, they’re joining something that’s bigger than themselves. They’re joining an organisation that isn’t about profit, it’s about the people. It isn’t about shareholders, it’s about our students.

“We need people who care deeply – about the Hull and Humber region, and about industry in the area – because we want our students to not just make a living, but to make a life.

“We’ve had very significant reputational recovery for the college over the last two-and-a-half years, and with that reputational recovery has come growth.

“There have been increased volumes of students, including adults, coming through and we’ve brought on new curriculum areas, such as Esports.

“It’s a real success story for the college and the city, and it means we now need additional staffing to support that growth.”

Debra is keen to stress that a lack of teaching experience or qualifications is not a barrier to joining the college, which has a programme of support in place to train individuals currently working in industry.

“Our staff aren’t just teachers, they’re trained professionals who’ve done a job in industry,” she said. “I came into education from the private sector myself, having worked in the digital industry.

“Getting people with those skills can be a real challenge, particularly for some of the technical disciplines, but what we can offer here now is something very special indeed.

“If you work here, you have a team of people behind you who care about your development. We invest in our people.”

The college has enjoyed a remarkable recent turnaround.

When Debra joined two-and-a-half years ago it had suffered multiple changes in leadership, job losses and financial difficulties, and was graded by Ofsted as ‘Requires Improvement’.

It is now graded ‘Good’ overall with ‘Outstanding’ features and has won numerous national and international awards, including in the areas of digital and green skills.

Debra said: “The word I hear constantly is ‘change’. People now see us as a dynamic force in the region.

“It’s down to a number of things. We’ve taken our students’ success and progress really seriously – around 95 per cent of all our students now progress into positive destinations once they leave us.

“Our reputation is significantly improved – with parents, with employers, and with young people themselves. We’ve upgraded our facilities and made strategic investments. It’s all helped attract a huge influx of additional students.

“We’ve also focused on prioritising staff welfare, and looking after the people we already have. That’s only right, because they’ve worked their socks off, and shown incredible loyalty to the college.”

Despite such significant progress and growth, Debra insists there is still work to do on the college’s journey to become “world-class”.

“World-class means we can hold our heads up with the very best technical and further education colleges in the world,” she said.

“It’s about benefiting the Humber region, and helping attract multi-billion-pound conglomerates to invest and create the jobs of the future here with a skills pipeline.  

“It’s delivering world class education right here in the heart of Hull – because this city needs it, and deserves it.”

• To view the range of career opportunities available at Hull College, visit https://careers.hull-college.ac.uk/