Suggest work in education first (5)
I believe the answer is:
opine
'suggest' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'work in education first' is the wordplay.
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'education first' becomes 'e' (1st letter of 'education').
'op'+'in'+'e'='OPINE'
(Other definitions for opine that I've seen before include "Express a point of view" , "Suppose" , "Conjecture" , "Express or hold view" , "Give one's view" .)