Soon after I left the Training Board I was helping out with teaching (very) basic electronics at Solihull College. This lasted one term and then fizzled out ...

It was some time before the next opportunity came along: at Halesowen College. They were looking for someone to teach quality to unemployed adults who had returned to learning to re-furbish their existing qualifications with more modern subjects. This opportunity came via a former work colleague and I know at least three other people had been offered the work before I was!

Anyway I went along and 'did my thing' and within two weeks my one term contract was extended to the full academic year. Before that was up I was retained for the following course, and asked if I could teach industrial studies as well. Then they asked me if I could teach modern methods of production. After that they asked me to teach personnel management and, finally, mathematics - the only subject in which I had any formal qualifications. That proved far and away the most difficult (come back Harry Tyson all is forgiven!), so I was glad when the guy for whom I was standing in returned from sickness!!

Two groups of unemployed adults that I taught, July 1993

As you can see my policy was to say 'Yes, now what needs teaching?' This could have gone on forever - but then someone decided to 'privatise' further education. Fairly rapidly the wheels started to come off, which was no surprise. The adult courses stopped and I switched to teaching the same subjects to apprentices. It wasn't the same, the rates of pay were falling, the 23 mile journey was getting more horrendous by the week so, after four years, I bowed out leaving just my work in adult education and self employment.