What is your name, job title and place of work?

Tracy Butler, learning manager of the hair, beauty and catering department at Bournemouth and Poole College.

How long have you held your current role, and what other jobs did you have before?

I have been at the college 21 years, the past five in management. Prior to that, I was a student at the college on a specialised chef programme, where I trained in top London hotels (including The Goring, The Lanesborough and The Stafford) in an advanced apprenticeship. I then chose my specialism as a pastry chef after my four-year course.

How - and why - did you first start working in further education?

In all honesty: by default! I returned to my home town of Bournemouth after being in London, popped in to see my old lecturer to see if he knew any jobs locally, and he asked if I’d cover some lessons before a new member of staff started. They didn’t start, and so I was offered the job instead. I became an instructor, studied for my Cert Ed while I taught, and five years later became a lecturer.

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Briefly describe what a day at work looks like for you.

Currently, I am focused on ensuring the departments I manage run smoothly. This is often [through] operational activities, but can also be strategic and performance management. We also run two different commercial businesses (salons and restaurants) so I have to keep on top of all the associated tasks that come along with this. I oversee 10 salons, 8 kitchens and 2 restaurants and have 30 members of staff, and my role is to ensure they have everything they need to do their jobs effectively. I quality assure what happens within our teaching and learning environments to confirm our students are developing well on their chosen courses. I also teach in my chosen specialism of pastry.

What motivates you in your workplace?

Being useful and making a difference. My days are never the same which keeps me on my toes and being part of our learners’ journeys is a real privilege. Being part of such a great team motivates me to support them and shine the light on the amazing job that we all do.

Share an anecdote about a student or learner who has inspired you.

Groups of students always astound me, so it’s difficult to pick one particular student, but I think they have particularly amazed me during Covid times. Since last March, our students have shown such resilience and self-motivation to succeed, no matter what obstacles have been put in their way. Some of our students have been supporting and homeschooling young children; some have been caring for poorly relatives; some (younger students) have been isolated to their bedrooms with their social network ripped away from them; some have battled anxiety and mental health issues - all as well as studying online, which, particularly in our vocational subjects, has been really challenging for them. It wasn’t what they signed up for; they are practitioners and working via a computer has been so hard for them.

Do you enjoy working in FE? And if so, why?

I love working in FE - we get to meet such diverse cohorts of students all with different life experiences and we can all come together in the interests of further development. Plus I still get to practise the trade I originally trained in and am passionate about. Win-win!

What do you see as the big challenges for the FE sector in the next few years?

For our industries, the recovery from Covid. Plus educational funding streams being lowered. If this sector is not promoted, there will also be skilled staff shortages, as it’s not financially viable for a skilled person to use their expertise and divert into teaching.

What do you think our FE sector will look like in 30 years’ time?

Following Covid, a lot more online, which will be a real shame and not the same experience for the students at all. Let’s hope for a real turnaround to where FE used to be: respected and invested in.

If you were made apprenticeships and skills minister, what is the first thing you’d introduce or change?

A revision of the new “standard” format. They are way too long, complicated and in fixing one problem of ensuring valuable, valid programmes for apprenticeships they have created a whole raft of inadequacies for students, employers and training providers.