FE Careers launches FE Community Social Networking site

www.FECareers.co.uk and their news site FE News.co.uk have launched FE Community, the social networking site for the Further Education, Skills and Employability sectors. www.FEcommunity.co.uk brings FE professionals together to network, share best practice, and keep up to date with industry news, events, jobs, tips and advice from FE sector experts.

Placing FE Community firmly at the forefront, all press releases and event information submitted for inclusion on FE News will now come via FE Community.

ìWe wanted to create a social network that was purely for experts within the Further Education and Skill sector. We didnít want to pour a load of energy into developing something where people just tell each other they are drinking coffee or getting off a train,î said Gavin OíMeara, Chief Executive of FE Careers and FE News.

ìWe have two very different audiences subscribing to FE Careers and FE News. FE Careers attracts delivery staff and middle managers, while FE News has always had a strong following from senior decision makers and policy makers. From Principals of Colleges, chief executives of Government-funded training providers, to heads of Government quangos and ministers, all are incredibly passionate about the sector, but how often do they get together?î

Gavin believes such a meeting place couldn't come at a more crucial time to help the sector battle its way out of the recession.

He continued: ìA lecturer may ask another lecturer for advice on how to deal with a difficult situation, or a senior decision maker can discuss with the FE Community whether an idea they have will work. This presents a tremendous opportunity that just wasn't available anywhere until FE Community was launched.

ìWe are also hoping that FE Community will help improve the accessibility of the sector. All of the press releases and event information for FE News must now come through FE Community, which will increase the professional PR and marketing presence of the site.î

Jason Rainbow, Editor of FE News, said: ìWe want to encourage College departments, medium and start-up Government-funded training providers to submit press releases and let the whole sector know what brilliant work they are delivering. We are hoping that FE Community will encourage and inspire the industry to share their successes and innovative ways of engaging learners.

ìIt's important to tell the world how the FE, Skills and Employability sectors are delivering value for money to the tax payer, and how integral they are for the success of the UK economy.î

FE Community members will be able to view the latest video articles from FE News as well as upload their own. From sharing advice on how to gain funding to offering CV tips, the possibilities are limitless. Mark Reynolds, FE News New Media Editor, agreed that now is the time to champion what the sector can bring to the UK's economy and its people.

ìThe FE sector really is the opportunity sector, but how often do you hear of the excellence and achievement of those that mainstream education or the social system has let down? How many people in FE, let alone the general public, knew that 26 young people - highly qualified experts in their fields - represented the UK in a global skills competition recently? Well this happened in Calgary this month, and those 26 young people did their country proud with three gold and six bronze medals, said Mr Reynolds, who was in Canada to film the intensive four day event.

Gavin added: ìThe World Skills competition is coming to London in 2011, so hopefully the FE Community can play a part in raising the awareness of the great things that our sector is achieving. FE is already delivering amazing things, itís just time we let the world know about it. But the first stage to that is helping colleagues in the sector become comfortable with sharing this good news and best practice. This is where FE Community comes in.î

www.fecommunity.co.uk
www.fecareers.co.uk
www.fenews.co.uk