Back in the day, in England and Russia, occasionally government agents would pose as teachers at schools to keep an eye out for students who seemed to have a natural talent for cloak-and-dagger stuff. After graduation or during college, said student would usually be approached with a job offer (Or So I Heard). That's why Ed Rooney is such a hardass: He knows that the more he enforces rules, the more students like Ferris will rebel. As a result of his rulemeistering, Ferris is a vehicular expert/computer whiz/electrician.