On Wednesday 28 January, Helen Hayes MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee hosted a reception at the House of Commons bringing together parliamentarians and thought leaders from across the further education and skills sector to reflect on the industry’s contribution to learners, communities and economic growth, and to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of UK skills.
Guernsey’s Vanessa Mee, Professional Development & Scholarly Activity Lead at TGI College was invited to attend. Vanessa, who was awarded a Technical Teaching Fellowship 2025/6, was given the opportunity to share her reflections on the work she is undertaking as part of her fellowship with The Royal Commission of 1851 and The Education and Training Foundation. Her research is focused specifically on innovation and employer engagement.
“I was so thrilled to be invited to this event and to have the chance to share my insights into the ways that the island can innovate and influence the further education sector. It was also a fantastic opportunity to meet with other professionals and thought leaders in the field, find out about their work and discuss the challenges and trends affecting the sector in general.”
Vanessa’s work has been tracking the relationship between local and national employer needs as well as those pedagogies, teaching and learning styles that provide the maximum impact for learners of 16 - 22 years.
“The priority for the FE educator is to broaden from laser sharp vocational expertise to a more fluid and integrative paradigm. Where historically lecturers could be conceived as masters of craft, virtuosos and artisans in our disciplines, there is now an evolving need for us to also master and model a complementary suite of additional skills and professional dispositions, which include agility and resilience alongside the capacity to support learners to reach their potential as future employees in an increasingly dynamic professional landscape.”
Vanessa is keen for students to get the right support and preparation for their forward progression into higher education and work. “There is now a pressing need for strategic innovation to reposition elements such as mindset, resilience, and interpersonal skills as educationally imperative. As artificial intelligence reshapes both the work and the workforce, humans must bring forward precisely those attributes that machines cannot easily replicate, while also developing dexterity in working fluidly with hybrid intelligences.
“The work we do with teachers over the next few years will have a profound impact on the education profession and the future workforce of the island in terms of health, wellbeing, happiness and success at work. I see Guernsey as a place that can truly live out and champion these values in the further education that we offer.”
