Seventy teachers from across Greater Lincolnshire will go ‘back to the floor’ to gain experience of business and industry and improve young people’s career opportunities. 

Twenty-six schools and colleges and 13 businesses are working together to connect teachers with employers to bring skills and workplace experience into the classroom and enrich the curriculum. 

Under the new Teacher Encounters programme delivered by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the Careers & Enterprise Company, teachers will get half-day experiences to help them to develop a stronger knowledge of their subject area through real world industry experience. 

The Greater Lincolnshire businesses taking part are: Branston, Catch UK, CITB, CorrBoard, eComOne, Inzpire Ltd, Orsted, Plum Products, Ruddocks, Seafox Management Consultants, Serco, SRC UK and Tong Engineering. 

The scheme is part of a new national pilot programme bringing together 1,000 teachers and 200 businesses across England, allowing them to enrich teaching practice and share knowledge about skills gaps and labour market information with students and parents.  

Lee Douglas, Strategic Hub Lead of the Careers Hub at the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, said: “We have delivered the Teacher Encounters project in collaboration with award-winning businesses, world leaders in their sectors which are operating at the cutting edge of innovation and technology.  

“It is crucial that teachers can have meaningful experiences with employers in Greater Lincolnshire. These experiences are designed to inspire teachers, enabling them to make vital links to their curriculum area of expertise and pass vital careers related information to their students.” 

Oli de Botton, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: “Teachers are powerful sources of careers inspiration for young people – through the conversations they have and the curriculum they teach.   

“One of the ways we can support them is by bridging the worlds of business and education and giving teachers meaningful encounters with employers.  

“Done well, these encounters can inspire teachers, students and employers. Teachers can see at first hand how local businesses work, including the routes in like apprenticeships. Students can benefit when teachers bring this insight into their lessons, linking learning to workplace skills. And employers can learn more about the workforce of the future. 

“This pilot is an opportunity to bring careers education further into the mainstream of school and college life and build on the enthusiasm we know is there from business to better support schools and from teachers to support their students to take their best next step.” 

Studies show that teachers are a key source of career inspiration for students. However, they want more information about the range of future options – in particular vocational and apprenticeship pathways – which are not a feature of their current training. 

  • Research by The Sutton Trust shows nearly nine in ten teachers (88 per cent) feel their training doesn’t currently prepare them to deliver careers support to students. 
  • A report by PLMR shows while 70 per cent of teachers agree apprenticeships provide excellent future opportunities, only 26 per cent feel confident advising students about how to find an apprenticeship. In contrast, when it comes to university applications, 90 per cent feel confident giving advice. 

Evidence from two early test pilots in Oxfordshire and Berkshire show support among teachers for Teacher Encounters. They say the scheme helps them to improve their understanding of the range of jobs and routes into the workplace and to bring that insight into how they teach their subjects, linking classroom learning to workplace skills.  

The Greater Lincolnshire project will begin on Tuesday 27th June 2023. It will be delivered by the LEP’s Careers Hub, which is funded by local partners including Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council and Rutland County Council.