About the roles
Would you like to gain non-executive governance experience through a role on a charity committee? Are you keen to use your expertise to help ensure and improve the quality and standards of education and training of the Further Education (FE) and Skills workforce? Would you like to be part of how we answer the question: how do we know the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) is doing a good job, meeting sector need and delivering impact?
ETF has two vacancies on its new Education, Quality and Standards Committee (a committee of the ETF Board) and we are inviting expressions of interest from professionals/ practitioners working within the FE and Skills sector. You would join a group of up to six people (including up to three ETF trustees) on the Committee, who would bring a variety of perspectives from across parts of FE and Skills.
The EQS Committee is a committee of the ETF Board. The main purpose of the Committee is (on behalf of the Board) to oversee and ensure the quality and standards of the charity’s educational provision (e.g. training and development, statuses, membership). Its main responsibilities are to oversee and advise the ETF Board on the quality of provision, outcomes and impact.
About the ETF
Every day, educators and leaders across the FE and Skills sector inspire curiosity, drive progress and empower learners to achieve their potential. ETF is here to amplify the vital role of the FE and Skills workforce. Working in partnership, we drive professionalism by setting professional standards for the quality of teaching and leadership across the sector. We provide educators with professional development throughout their careers, champion inclusion, and enable sector change for a thriving FE and Skills sector. Together, we are transforming lives and opportunities for learners aged 14 and above.
We are the professional body for the whole Further Education and Skills sector. Our training and development programmes, professional body membership and professional statuses elevate professionalism:
- A trusted partner in skills development, we support government and regional bodies with evidence-based workforce strategies
- We set the quality standards for teaching and leadership, deliver Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and are home to the Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status and Advanced Teacher Status (ATS).
- Raising teaching standards enhances career opportunities for teachers, improves their students’ outcomes and helps them to succeed in sustainable employment.
- Our approach not only drives national economic growth but also cultivates more prosperous local communities.
Together, we promote professionalism, improve teaching standards and champion inclusion, and so enabling sector change.
Skills and experience
ETF aims to support and enable the workforce to be more representative of the diversity of the FE and Skills learner population and at the same time benefit from a diverse range of voices in our governance to shape our decision making. Therefore, we welcome applications from all backgrounds and would particularly encourage hearing from disabled people, individuals with a global majority background and younger applicants, and those without or with limited non-executive experience.
Through these vacancies we are looking to ensure that the voices of the FE and Skills practitioner and ETF’s professional membership community, SET (the Society for Education and Training), are heard. We are looking for people who have, or are, one or more of the following:
- An active practising teacher, trainer, professional, practitioner in FE and Skills (essential)
- An understanding and experience of quality and/or curriculum management in an FE and Skills setting (essential)
- Have achieved QTLS or ATS through ETF and/or been awarded a Technical Teaching Fellowship (desirable)
- An understanding of governance in an FE and Skills and/or charity environment (desirable)
Current or previous members of ETF’s Practitioner Advisory Group (PAG) are welcome to apply. If successful, the applicant would be expected to become a member of ETF (if they are not already).
Expected time commitment and remuneration
This role is unremunerated. Attendance will be required at up to three Education, Quality and Standards Committee meetings per year, plus time to sufficiently prepare for the meetings including engagement with key Executive and the Committee Chair. Committee meetings are normally held online. Suggested approximate number of days: 3-5 (per year).
Key dates
Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Friday 13 June
Planned interview date: Friday 4 July (AM) [ideally in person]
EQS meeting dates (2-hour online meetings via Teams):
- Friday 26 Sept 2025, 10am-12noon
- Thursday 15 Jan 2026, 10am-12noon
If you are interested, please submit an expression of interest and your CV to ETF’s Company Secretary, Gina Hobson: gina.hobson@etfoundation.co.uk
