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<p>The department estimates enrolment of students in 16-19 education for the purpose
of forecasting required funding, but this does not reflect an estimate of teacher
supply. However, the department works closely with the sector to continually review
the evidence around the impact of workforce supply and demand. We know the further
education (FE) sector will need to grow the overall size of its teaching workforce
due to the roll-out of T Levels, which require more teaching hours, and due to demographic
pressures and the delivery of other important skills reforms.</p><p>To support providers
to recruit and retain teachers, the department is increasing the level of overall
investment in the FE sector. The Spending Review 2021 made an extra £1.6 billion available
for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year compared with 2021/22. The department
has boosted specific programme cost weightings by 10% in the 2023/24 financial year
to support the additional costs of recruiting and retaining staff in construction,
manufacturing, engineering, and digital subject areas.</p><p>The department is also
supporting teacher recruitment in the sector through a national campaign to encourage
industry professionals to become FE teachers. Our Taking Teaching Further programme
has supported around 1,000 industry professionals to train as FE teachers since 2018.
The department is providing bursaries worth up to £29,000 each, tax free, to support
FE teacher training in priority subject areas for the 2023/24 academic year.</p><p>The
department is also offering early career support for teachers in the form of access
to a trained mentor through our Teacher Mentoring Programme, which was announced in
March 2023. We will continue to work with the sector to consider options for providing
further support so that all learners are able to benefit from high-quality teaching.</p><p><strong><br>
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