lecturer

tutor

apprentice

customer service representative

demonstrator

West-Suffolk-College

Since the change in management in HR, there has been multiple changes in the team, and in priorities. 
The team were working through some really amazing strategic plans, and I have the upmost faith in they will achieve them. 
Since the change in manager, there has been a dramatic change in culture, and I have never seen the team so settled, with clear guidelines. 

I have seen so much progression in the last year - continuous growth, culture change and happier staff. 

Typically, HR is full of everchanging priorities, but the proactive team have been so forward thinking, this has resulted in a steady, collected approach. 

Hardest part of the job, perhaps finding the time to fit everything in? Since the opening of Abbeygate, there has been extra work, this is very exciting for the future of the college. Saying that, they are recruiting more staff which will certainly help balance the work load! 

Most enjoyable part of the role - the people. the management. the solutions focused approach. work life balance is brilliant. 

I required some support whilst employed with a family issue - and my manager and team were so kind and understanding, giving me the support I needed at that time.

What is the best part of working at the company?
This part of the college was just starting when I joined them so not much teaching going but no doubt there is now.


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I have worked at 4 colleges of further education over 40 years !
I always found this that knowing your job and how well you got on with your work colleagues was very important for stress free life at work .

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
North Cambridgeshire Training Centre in Chatteris where I worked was an annexe a long way away from the main college campus in Bury St Edmonds .
So you felt isolated from the main college environment. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Worked part time .
With only 2 members of staff apart from myself regularly on the site you felt quite isolated.
The college annex was only starting up when I joined so may be better now ,

The review of 17/9/22 is spot on. The Lack of time in core hours for preparing lessons places tutors in an impossible position. They have no choice but to spend endless hours preparing content in their own time to ensure they can deliver quality teaching content. (The holidays may be good but they do not compensate for the stress of term time). The managers in my experience are pleasant but under pressure with little time to sufficiently support their staff and are constrained by budgets and numbers. New staff are in an even worse position as they are not only dropped in the deep end but are dragged down by the culture that expects them to 'suck it up' in their first year. The planning and teaching resources are limited to non-existent adding further stress but the lesson everyone needs to learn is that ultimately it is all about being a business first, a teaching academy second and staff third.

The standard day of work at WSC is between 0800 and 1730, Monday - Friday.  It has enabled me to improve on my teaching skills and also my ability to liaise with students, staff, parents/guardians and out side organisation.  
I have been lead on two projects which the department have been running college wide, including the Positive Intervention Programme (PiP, a programme to engage students at risk of not achieving) and National Citizen Service (NCS, a national programme which the college were a provider).
The management has been very supportive towards my work, always willing to answer questions.
I have had an excellent time working at WSC and would love to work there, however my contract ends September 2015.

I work as a Personal Support Tutor and have almost finished my first year at the College.  I have worked in education before, but I have to say this is the best place I have ever worked.  The College has a strong culture of putting students first and have invested in the student support teams.  You do have to work hard, but it is a rewarding job and I have to say, the support I have received from my line manager as well as the Vice Principal responsible for this area has been fantastic.  If you want to work with great people, work hard and be inspired everyday come and work at the College.

A typical day working at there could be something like this. I arrive there and greet the receptionist after that I prepare all the material before my students arrive and then I start teaching Spanish. 

At WSC I learned how become a better teacher since I have different students with different personalities and capacities. Also, the fact that my students are from all over the world, helps me to feel more comfortable when teaching.

The hardest part of the job is that you do not really know whether you will have students for the next part of the course or not. The most enjoyable part of the job is that every day I teach there, my students and me have a laugh.

WSC is a fairly standard FE college that expects far too much in the time given. There is not enough time to complete all tasks in the working week so lots of additional hours are expected just to keep up. New staff are just thrown in the deep end and it's all about bums on seats rather than quality of education or holding students responsible for their actions. There is a lack of progression opportunities and the pay is not equal to a sixth form college despite being in a group with two. The people you work with are lovely but generally stressed.

Dreadful Management team, no leadership skills at all, just yes people who have done what they need, to creep up the ladder

There are some lovely genuine people, but they don't last long, it's very clicky

Current Principal doesn't care about the Employees

Top heavy with female Management

Decent enough catering, but could be better

Parkings a joke 

Lasted almost 11 years then desperately had to leave

If you have an opinion your cards are marked anyway!

Lack of support from Manager, they have no backbone

However, training opportunities are available and it's a large enough place to move around departments and jobs once you're in

Since completing my studies, I have had recent experience as a Marketing Administrator, at the West Suffolk College, working on a 3 month temporary contract. My interest in Marketing grew massively during this time and I really enjoyed the work. I developed an understanding of the importance of personal presentation in Marketing and a number of other skills, such as Data collection, planning, organization, communicating with others and gaining confidence in myself. I believe my particularly strength is interaction with colleagues and more importantly, with clients and I enjoyed the responsibility of working as part of a marketing team.

Each WSC site has a team of very helpful and supportive staff. As an hourly paid, part-time teacher, I am included in the team and I am returning this year, for less hours because I feel part of the local centre team.
  My subject is hand- out heavy, so physical prep is the 'hardest' part, as many learners have specific needs, but all materials are supplied in a bank of files from which to choose. This is due to the 'satellite' nature of  of the organisation, but cheerful staff more than make up for this.

 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Lecturer 13 salaries reported	£35,579 per year
Tutor 7 salaries reported	£29,323 per year
Apprentice 5 salaries reported	£15,682 per year
Customer service representative 2 salaries reported	£14,960 per year
Demonstrator 6 salaries reported	£27,900 per year

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