Here at Bridgwater & Taunton College, we are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent recruitment process for all, please read the guidance below for more information below and tips on how to apply.

Personal Statement

Please provide a personal statement detailing your reasons for applying for the post. This statement is an important part of the application form, and you should provide clear details of how you meet the essential criteria as stated in the Job Description and Person Specification and give brief details of relevant examples to support this. This information will be used for short listing of applicants.

Applications that do not include a Personal Statement will not be considered for short listing.

Anonymous Shortlisting

We are extremely proud to say, we now anonymously shortlist candidates. This means that personal details such as your name, age, gender, and other identifying information might not be visible to the shortlisting panel. Applications are assessed solely on the strength of the information provided in the personal statement and supporting documents.

Therefore, in order to maintain an accurate recruitment process, all candidates MUST complete their personal statement thoroughly and thoughtfully. You must ensure that you clearly demonstrate how your qualifications, skills, and experience meet the criteria outlined in the job description and person specification.

General

As an education provider, we are committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff who join us to demonstrate this commitment. To this end, we are required to undertake several specific recruitments checks in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance.

It is important that you complete all parts of the application form as fully and accurately as possible as we will not make assumptions about your experience, knowledge, skills and abilities. Our selection process will be based on the information provided in your application form. Failure to fully complete the application form correctly may lead to your application being rejected.

It is important that you read the job advertisement, job description, person specification and any other accompanying information carefully before commencing your application. The College does not accept applications in the form of CVs and these will not be considered for short listing.

Personal Details

Please complete this section using your legally registered name and not any chosen name or nickname. It is helpful if you provide all contact details for us to update you regarding your application.

If you do not know your National Insurance number, you may find it on a previous pay slip or letter from the Inland Revenue or Department for Work and Pensions. You can also contact the Department for Work and Pensions who can advise you what it is.

If you have any queries about our sponsorship licence, please contact jobs@btc.ac.uk

Disability

Bridgwater & Taunton College is a Disability Confident Committed employer. We will make all reasonable adjustments to assist you in both the application and further recruitment process. Please indicate on your application form if you wish to declare a disability. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please let us know and if you prefer you can contact us separately by emailing jobs@btc.ac.uk

Education and Qualifications

As part of our recruitment process you will be required to provide evidence that you have achieved the essential qualifications required for the post you are applying for. You should therefore be prepared to provide your original qualification certificates for verification for all essential qualifications you have declared on your application form, should you be selected for interview.

You should provide dates of all education undertaken in chronological order and where applicable, detail your qualification names, dates, and grades.

Employment

It is essential that you provide a full employment history from when you left full time education. You should list all employment in chronological order starting with your current or most recent employment first. Failure to provide a full employment history may result in your application being rejected.

Gaps in Employment

You must ensure that there are no gaps in the history of your education, employment, or other experience. If there are any periods of time that have not been accounted for in your application form e.g., time spent raising a family, travelling or on sabbatical, you must provide details and an explanation for these gaps.

References

We require you to provide us with details for two references. Both referees must have line management knowledge/experience of your work skills/performance and one must be your current or most recent manager. Please can you provide an accessible email address and phone number to enable us to contact your referees.

One of the references must be from your current or most recent manager.  Your referees should not be related to you or your family, or be a close friend.

 If you have previously worked at a college, we may contact the College Principal for an additional reference.

Equality & Diversity 

Bridgwater & Taunton College is committed to the promotion of equal opportunities and is dedicated to pursuing non-discriminatory policies and practices and to eliminate unfair discrimination on any basis.  This means that we are striving to ensure that no job applicant will receive less favourable treatment than another on grounds of gender, marital status, age, racial origin, disability, sexual orientation or political or religious beliefs.  

Criminal Record Check via the Disclosure Procedure 

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 gives individuals the right not to disclose details of certain old offences when asked about their criminal record as they may be defined as ‘spent’.  There are exemptions to this if the individual is offered a post which involves contact with children or regular work at an establishment exclusively or mainly for children. 

All posts at the college fall into this category and, therefore, require a criminal background check. 

If a job offer is made you will be asked to apply for a DBS Disclosure Certificate.  The Disclosure Certificate will contain details of current and “spent” convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings held on the Police National Computer, excluding certain specified old and minor offences. 

The DBS Disclosure will also indicate whether information is held on government department lists of those individuals who are barred from working with children or vulnerable adults (if applicable). 

The information provided on the Disclosure certificate will be considered by the College to ensure that children and vulnerable adults remain adequately protected.  Bridgwater & Taunton College wants to reassure candidates that a criminal record is not necessarily a bar on obtaining a position.

Further information about Disclosure can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/dbs. 

Important infromation

Bridgwater & Taunton College are proposing to merge with Strode College in August 2025 to form a stronger College Group to continue to serve its learners, employers, and the wider Somerset Community.

Applicants who apply for a role at Bridgwater & Taunton College and who start their employment after 31 July 2025 will be contracted under the newly merged organisation to be known as UCS College Group (University Centre Somerset College Group).

Further Questions

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the People Management Team at jobs@btc.ac.uk or by phoning 01278 441224.