'Technical education has every right to demand recognition'

The awarding of the first three Technical Teaching Fellowships, by the Education and Training Foundation and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, at the end of January was significant – not just for the three individuals on whom they were bestowed, but for the whole of technical education. The significance for the three new fellows – James Maltby of Plumpton College, Stephen Mariadas of Exeter College and David Martin of City and Islington College – is clear. These three talented individuals will be given the backing and platforms to escalate the impact of their work during the 2019-20 academic year. What they do will have a legacy, not just for their own reputations, but – vitally – for the lives, skills and employability of learners across the UK.To really understand the full significance of the Technical Teaching Fellowships, though, it is necessary to look at the wider context in which they have been awarded. Further education is an area that has, for some time, been the less recognised and much less well-funded sibling of the education sector. Schools and universities have tended to dominate political and public discourse about education and they have – and continue to – take the lion’s share of funding.