Nigel Beckford

Membership Grade: Full Member

Current Position: Lecturer

Reserved Seats: FE Colleges/Work-based Learning/South East England

Nine years of delivering vocational training to further education students has taught me more about myself than I could ever have imagined. The passion they have engendered in me for my vocational subject, Horticulture, specifically turf culture has been a revelation. In recent years the desire to make education my vocation has spurred me on to want to develop and improve the experience that my colleagues and I make to our learners. My feeling is the students pay back our efforts ten fold in personal satisfaction and the knowledge of our skills passed on.

Following a BAHons in Educational Studies I have recently embarked on a Masters in Education at Cambridge University,developing skills in educational leadership. This personal development has been in tandem with subject learning coaching,assessor and internal verifier training, mentoring duties, curriculum development and a personal desire to give the learners the positive start they need to get to their individual destinations.

My wish to join the Advisory Council derives from a position as one of the front line staff who deals with the every day issues of a member of teaching staff. It is my hope to have a say within our professional body, where I can represent my colleagues and those in similar positions around the country and will make a positive difference. I will enable forceful, fair and motivational change led by the needs of the learners.