Mike Smith MA FIfL, East of England Regional Adviser

“I took over from Judith Roberts as the regional adviser for the East of England in July. I entered teaching in our sector in 1998 from a background in electrical engineering. I have experience of teaching in traditional FE Colleges and currently work as the curriculum development manager for Eagit Training, a private work based learning provider to the engineering sector based in Norwich. I also hold the post of regional coaching ambassador for the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS).

“I hold a deep seated passion for what post compulsory education - in all its various forms from E2E to degrees and everything in between - gives to individuals and communities alike as I myself owe a great deal to the sector. I left secondary modern school at the age of 15without a qualification to my name and indeed, in this day and age, I would probably be walking around with more labels than a boy scout has badges of competence. The sector, but more importantly the people who teach in it, provided me with the motivation to firstly establish a career as an electrician, move on to Engineer status and finally enter education itself, qualify as a teacher and progress to achieving a MA at Oxford Brookes University. The story has not ended as I am currently reading for a Doctorate in Education at the University of East Anglia.

I have been lucky to inherit the excellent relationship that Judith has created with colleges and providers in the region. One of my main priorities, in taking on the role of regional adviser, is to use my experience in the work based learning sector to extend this relationship into other areas of the post compulsory system and help to ensure that the support of IfL is available to all providers, large or small, and the individual teachers and trainers within them.