Find more info about our competition alongside McLaren Automotive and enter.
The Department for Education’s Teach in Further Education (FE) campaign and McLaren Automotive have come together to launch the Skills Drive competition.
Industry professionals' experience and skills are highly valued in FE. Skills Drive celebrates FE teachers’ vital role in sharing their skills and inspiring the next generation of talent for the industry.
If you have real world industry skills, you could already have what it takes to teach in further education. From automotive to engineering – whatever your skills and experience, there’s likely a course in FE to match them.
In a combined mission to secure a strong pipeline of talent for the sector, the DfE Teach in FE campaign and McLaren are inviting automotive and engineering FE teachers from across England to enter the competition and showcase how they share their skills to inspire other industry professionals.
FE teachers are being asked to demonstrate how they share their skills and instil the principles of quality and innovation through their teaching. Three FE teachers, and their student teams, will be shortlisted and invited to an exclusive final at McLaren’s Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking; home to supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive and the McLaren Formula 1 team.
This final event will take place on Thursday 27 March 2025. All finalists will be invited to MTC for a tour of McLaren’s iconic headquarters and to take part in a series of challenges to determine the winning team.
Eligibility
- To enter this competition, you must be a further education (FE) teacher delivering a course relevant to the automotive and engineering sectors.
- You must be based in England.
- You can be working as a teacher in FE on a full time, part time or ad hoc basis.
- Please note, if you are shortlisted, you will be invited to form a team of up to 3 students to join you at the final event taking place on Thursday 27 March 2025 at McLaren’s Technology Centre in Woking. The students you select must be enrolled in your college and be studying an automotive or engineering course.
Competition period
- Entries are now open, eligible FE teachers are invited to complete and submit their written entries by Tuesday 25 February, 5pm.
- All entries will be reviewed by the DfE Teach in FE campaign team and McLaren teams.
- The x3 shortlisted FE teachers will be contacted and invited to the final at McLaren’s Technology Centre in early March. The final event will take place on Thursday 27 March 2025.
- The DfE Teach in FE campaign and McLaren will arrange & fund transport and accommodation (if required) for the x3 shortlisted teams.
- Written entries for the competition need to be submitted to https://forms.office.com/e/ZTpRVLdsM7 by 25 February 2025, 5pm.
To enter the competition, FE teachers need to complete the three questions on the linked form by 25 February 2025, 5pm.
Competition entry form
The judging process
- The Teach in FE campaign and McLaren will then judge the written entries and shortlist x3 FE teachers to take part in the final event at McLaren’s Technology Centre.
- Entrants are required to answer x3 questions as part of their submission. You can find top tips and what the judges will be looking for in your responses in the entry form linked above.
The prize
- The x3 shortlisted FE teachers will be invited to an exclusive final at McLaren’s Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking; home to supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive and the McLaren Formula 1 team.
- This final event will take place on Thursday 27 March 2025. All finalists will be invited to MTC for a tour of McLaren’s iconic headquarters and to take part in a series of challenges to determine the winning team.