A Wiltshire teacher is set to reappear on screens in a major Sky Sports campaign, hoping to get industry professionals into teaching.

Dean Carpenter, from Ludgershall in Wiltshire, teaches Construction Skills and Bricklaying at the Sparsholt College Group after years of working in bricklaying.

The 53-year-old was first featured on Sky Sports in multiple adverts promoting Sky Sports’ teacher recruitment campaign in September 2023.

According to the teacher, he gained overnight local fame and received messages from former colleagues and students he hadn’t spoken to in years.

“It all just started with me filling in a form and escalated from there,” he said.

“I went to London and it was a proper TV set with wardrobe and makeup, I’d never seen anything like it.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Dean Carpenter with one of his students.Dean Carpenter with one of his students. (Image: Sky Sports)

Dean is now set to grace screens once again as he shares his story in a national TV campaign scheduled to be broadcast on February 1, 2024.

The campaign, inspired by the Premier League’s transfer window, is calling on industry professionals to transfer their skills to further education (FE) teaching by sharing individual stories.

“I became a further education teacher as I wanted to transfer, excuse the football pun, my skills to the next generation,” explained Dean.

“This is my way to give back to a sector that I have enjoyed working in. As a further education teacher, I have a chance to pass on my knowledge to at least 50 students every year – it is a privilege to have a direct impact on so many lives.

“I’m so proud to be supporting this campaign and raising awareness for the opportunities the further education sector offers to industry professionals.”

FE teachers are needed across many subject areas and there is a particular demand for workers in Health and Social Care, Construction, Engineering and Manufacturing, Legal, Finance, Accounting, and Digital and IT.

Sky Sports Presenter Mike Wedderburn, who is supporting the campaign and will appear alongside Dean, added:

“Industry professionals have a real opportunity to inspire the next generation by teaching in Further Education.

“The role can be really flexible with opportunities to teach full-time, part-time and on an ad hoc basis alongside your current job.

“There’s a wide range of courses from healthcare to construction, whatever your industry, there’s likely a job in FE to match them.

“If you’re interested in changing lives without changing your career I’d encourage you to visit the Teach in Further Education website.”