IfL awards licensed practitioner status to first group of FE teachers and trainers

Friday 17 July 2009

Monday 13 July 2009 was a landmark occasion for teachers and trainers in the further education and skills sector. The Institute for Learning (IfL) hosted an awards ceremony in Westminster for the first ever group of teachers and trainers in the sector to complete the professional formation process and gain Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status. Formal recognition of full professional status, awarded by IfL, puts FE teachers and trainers on a par with other professionals.

Congratulating the award winners, Kevin Brennan MP, the minister of state for further education and skills, said, "I hope you will agree that it is a great mark of your professionalism and pride in teaching in the FE sector. You are of course the first group to achieve these new awards – but we hope you will of course be the first of many. I urge you to spread the word to your colleagues and encourage them to follow your example in pursuing this professional formation process.

"The role that you play as professional teachers and trainers is crucial. Through the knowledge and skills that you impart to learners every day, you are helping to build this country’s future prosperity, and help us remain competitive in the global economy."

 As the professional body for teachers and trainers in the further education and skills sector, IfL is responsible for conferring QTLS or ATLS status, a new requirement for those joining the sector after September 2007, and open to all teachers and trainers across the sector.

The first round of applications resulted in 111 successful awards, of which 106 were QTLS and the rest ATLS. Sixty-six of the pioneers attended the ceremony, with their guests, to receive their awards from the chair of IfL's Council, Sue Crowley.

Engin Mustafa, head of learning and development for a large private sector company, explained why he had joined IfL and undertaken professional formation although not obliged to do so. "IfL has begun a journey that will change the landscape of adult learning, ultimately cutting across all boundaries and sectors. QTLS status is just as relevant to teachers, trainers and tutors in FE as it is in industry and will fast become the currency of teaching professionalism, wherever adult educators work. For me it is about leading by example and providing quality adult teaching practice, endorsed by a professional body that allows formal recognition for all those who join and adhere to its high standards."

IfL's chief executive, Toni Fazaeli, said, "This is a proud day indeed for the FE and skills sector. For the first time, teachers and trainers in our sector have formal recognition of their full professional status and their dual professionalism, a marriage of subject expertise with teaching skills, knowledge and experience. The award by IfL of QTLS is an important step towards our goal of parity of esteem with other professions and the mutual recognition of professional status between schoolteachers with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and those with QTLS who teach in FE and skills.

"We believe that by raising the standing of FE and skills teachers and trainers, the profession will increasingly be seen as a career of choice. Teachers and trainers in the sector should be highly valued for their work with learners and for the contribution they make to the well-being of the nation, its citizens and the economy. Irrespective of the part of the sector in which they work, teachers and trainers should be recognised as well-qualified and up-to-date, modern professionals. IfL members – over 192,000 teachers and trainers – have an ongoing commitment to lifelong professional development."

Notes to Editors

Teachers and trainers who gained their initial teaching qualifications after September 2007 are required to achieve QTLS or ATLS status within five years of employment in the sector. Although it is not mandatory for them, existing teachers are also encouraged to become licensed practitioners, as this will become the benchmark for the sector.

Press-quality photos are available on request.