Welcome to Furness Careers

Alan pursued a career in teaching in September 2021 after over 50 years in industry. He used the skills and knowledge obtained throughout his career to make lessons interesting and engaging, continuously learning on how to plan, prepare and deliver lessons to meet course specifications.

Alongside his teaching, Alan attended the Certificate in Education each Wednesday morning where he would be allocated time to work with his peers and our experienced Tutor to develop a more in depth understanding and share good practice.

By June 2024 Alan had achieved his Certificate in Education, and is a valued member of teaching staff within the Electrical Engineering department.

"After over 50 years working in the electrical contracting industry starting as an apprentice electrician at the age of 16 and finishing as the MD of a large building services company at the age of 66 I was offered the chance to move into FE. This was not something I had thought about before.

Working mainly with apprentice electricians in both classrooms and workshops, my first-hand experience of many types of electrical work gained over many years allows me to pass on some of that knowledge to my students and it gives great satisfaction to see how some of the students develop.

Here at Furness College I am part of a small team of electrical tutors who get on well and are always willing to help each other.

FE teaching is a very rewarding job, each day is different and challenging and can be flexible with good holidays. It is something that I would recommend any skilled worker looking for a change in direction."

Ebany has had varied career at the college before pursuing a career in teaching. She joined the college back in 2016 as a Sport Centre Administrator and later joined our student services team working in a variety of student facing roles including as a careers advisor. Whilst working as a member of our support staff, Ebany worked towards a degree in business management here at the college which she achieved in 2023.

Having developed a strong understanding of the college and our students, Ebany took the opportunity to apply for one of our teaching positions and has been a full time Lecturer since September 2023.

Ebany is currently attending the PGCE alongside her job to become a qualified teacher.

"Furness College has provided me with great career progression by giving me opportunities that I never thought were possible.

Staff across the college are really supportive of each other including management who encourage personal and professional development which supports people with their career progression.

The students make the college what it is and there is a sense of pride knowing that as staff you are part of the students learning journey here."

After completing a MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, Kate moved to Scotland and joined the Forestry Commission as part of their Graduate Development Programme. Kate worked with developing renewables, specifically hydropower, across the forestry estate as well as working in a range of core functions including Human Resources, Procurement and Corporate Services. On completion of the programme, Kate took up the role of Glentress Peel Project Manager and managed the delivery of a £9 million new visitor centre development in the Scottish Borders.

Relocating to South Lakeland in 2010, Kate took on the position of Improvements Engineer with James Cropper PLC, a world-class advanced materials and paper products group based near Kendal. In 2012 Kate became a Charted Engineer, professionally registered with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. While working for James Cropper PLC Kate built relationships with local education providers offering placement projects, acting as a mentor to 6th form learners and an industrial sponsor for a series of school based projects. It is throughout this work that Kate’s passion to inspire others to learn was ignited and ultimately compelled her to move into education full time.

"I always knew I wanted to be an engineer and it was only once I was working in the sector and got involved with local schools through sponsoring some engineering projects I realised I was interested in a career in education. In fact at the time it felt like my real job was getting in the way of what I wanted to be doing in terms of mentoring and working with young people to develop their skills and ambitions. Furness College supported me to train as a teacher and develop the skills I needed to apply my engineering knowledge into my lesson delivery.

I have found working at the college an incredibly rewarding and varied role. Whilst I started in a full time teaching position, and have returned to full time now, there were times during my time at the college that I accessed flexible working to work part time whilst bringing up my two young children. The college were incredibly supportive and it was a great relief to know I had my full time position to return back to when the time was right when my children began school. And the amount of annual leave compared to working in industry is incredible, it means that I can still spend a lot of the school holidays with my family and I’ve never worked in a job before where you got free days off at Christmas."

After secondary school, Paige continued with her education, completing her A Levels, and then achieving a BA (Hons) in Secondary PE with QTS. Having completed a number of teaching placements as part of her degree, Paige took up her first teaching position overseas, where she spent 12 months at a primary/secondary school in Africa. On her return to Barrow, Paige dedicated 8 years to teaching in secondary school before embarking on her first teaching position in further education with Furness College in 2022.

"I thoroughly enjoy working at Furness College, the students inspire me and no day is the same! I am fortunate to have fantastic colleagues and my role allows me to work closely with the wider community."

After leaving school at 16, Zoe started her career working for a high street bank where she remained for 10 years. Zoe then returned to full time education to work towards achieving a BA (Hons) English and Sociology. At this stage Zoe knew it was her ambition to get into teaching, however during her last year of study fell pregnant with her eldest son and continued study wasn’t an option.

Zoe then pursued a career in the Charity Sector, where she remained for 15 years, and was Head of Income Generation at St Mary’s Hospice before joining the college.

In 2014 she embarked on a Masters Degree in Leadership and Management and graduated in 2015. Zoe contacted to the college to discuss her options for getting into teaching, and began studying the PGCE. Zoe had a voluntary placement at the college to gain some teaching experience without giving up the day job. In 2016 a vacancy for teaching Business within our Engineering curriculum became available and by this point Zoe had gained enough knowledge and experience of teaching to know it was something she wanted to pursue.

"When the teaching opportunity became available back in 2016 I decided to grab this with both hands as I loved teaching and it was certainly what I had always wanted to do. As they say the rest is history and I have never looked back. I now feel that I am passing on my knowledge and skills, using my qualifications well and seeing the students progress is so rewarding. I changed my life and my career! "