Department for Education Give Your Skills New Life

Department for Education inspires careers in further education

The work marks its debut with creative agency VCCP

By Creative Salon

28 January 2026

Department for Education (DfE) is launching an integrated campaign, ‘Give Your Skills New Life’, the first campaign created by newly appointed creative agency of record VCCP.

Following a competitive pitch in June 2025, VCCP, is launching an integrated campaign with the Department for Education. The ‘Give your Skills New Life’ campaign will act as a national recruitment drive - designed to encourage people seeking a career change to consider training others by clearly articulating the rewards of training college students.

Whilst many possess the necessary skills, few realise that transitioning into further education is an option, let alone a viable career choice.

The campaign was built from the insight that many people have a desire for change, but aren’t sure whether to take a leap into something entirely new. In order to encourage the change, DfE is positioning a career in further education as the perfect blend of new and familiar, which allows professionals to give their existing skills new life, and in so doing re-energise their careers.

The campaign portrays the journeys of several professionals in England reaching a crossroads in their career, then being ‘re-energised’ by pivoting and moving into further education, passing on their knowledge to the next generation of workers in their field. The campaign features real trainers and real students in real colleges such as West Herts Barnfield College (Luton Campus), South Thames College (Wandsworth Campus), and Westminster College (Paddington Campus).

In doing so, this campaign champions authenticity to explore such a significant career change in a way that feels achievable and compelling.

A series of four 30’ films use a ‘before and after’ structure to spotlight professionals at a career crossroads, captured through the eyes of those who noticed their fading enthusiasm first - their friends and family. Whilst these stories explore the various catalysts for a career change, they aim to emphasise how making that step into further education can reinvigorate a love of one’s craft, reinforcing how a career change doesn't have to be a daunting leap into the unknown but, rather, a natural evolution in one’s professional journey.

In addition to the films, the campaign will also run across digital, social, OOH, radio and print - with the aim of weaving the campaign into the daily lives of professionals, reinforcing that a transition into further education is an achievable next step.

Directed by George Daniell through VCCP's global content creation studio Girl&Bear, the films establish becoming a further education trainer as an accessible, exciting career change from a personal and emotive level. The DOOH, social and display production created by Bernadette continued the story in digital channels, employing targeted messaging to encourage professionals to explore whether a transition could be for them.

The campaign was created by VCCP creatives Jo Griffin and Ben Buswell and aims to position further education as an accessible next step for experienced professionals. DfE’s recent campaign aims to cut through the confusion and misunderstanding surrounding further education careers by offering professionals the chance to use their existing skills in a fresh and energising context.

Zoë Stock, Creative Director at VCCP, said: “This campaign is all about the difference further education can make for trainers, rather than students. Most of us can relate to professional moments where you feel a bit over it, but equally starting from scratch is just too daunting. It's been interesting to get under the skin of how that feels for people, and to think about how a somewhat unknown career option can be an opportunity to give not just your skills a second life, but yourself one too.”

The film will run across TV, video on demand, digital, online video, OOH, radio, print and social from 28th January to 30th March.

Credits:

CAMPAIGN TITLE: ‘Give your skills new life’

CLIENT: Department for Education

ADVERTISING AGENCY: VCCP

MEDIA PLANNING: Wavemaker

MEDIA BUYING: Omnicom

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jim Thornton

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Zoë Stock

CREATIVE TEAM: Jo Griffin / Ben Buswell

MANAGING PARTNER: Lindsey George

SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Jess Ridley / Rosie Troen