Support staff need more and better-targeted training if they are to fulfil their college roles, a new study says. Nearly 50,000 such staff work in colleges helping directly with teaching and learning. They include technicians, library staff, IT support, and nursery help.
Many colleges employ at least half as many learning support staff as full-time lecturers.
“The main purpose of support staff is not teaching,” says the report by FENTO, the FE national training organisation. “However, many of them are undertaking teaching.”
Although occupational standards exist for most support roles, many need to be tailored before staff can undergo training geared to working in a college, says the report. FENTO is to ask colleges if they want to produce standards for support staff in FE.
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