Is Further Education teaching right for me?
The thought of moving into a new career might seem like a big step, but your skills mean you’re probably more ready to start teaching than you realise.
If you have industry experience and a passion for passing on your skills, then you could make a great Further Education (FE) teacher.
On this page you can find information about what to expect when teaching in FE and understand how teaching can fit into your life.
What is Further Education (FE)?
Further Education, sometimes referred to as FE, includes any study after secondary education that’s not part of higher education (that is not taken as part of an undergraduate or graduate degree).
You could be teaching students from the age of 16 going up into adulthood.
If you're interested in teaching GCSEs or A levels at secondary, you can find out more by visiting the Get Into Teaching website.
This area of teaching offers a wide range of subjects that can be taught, including; accounting, construction, digital skills, health and social care.
There are also many different education settings where it can take place (such as specialist colleges, community centres and prisons).
Colleges and education settings are interested in hiring teachers with real industry experience.
They are looking for teachers that can share their skills and knowledge with students, meaning there are many exciting teaching and training opportunities when it comes to Further Education.
What subjects can I teach?
There are many different options available when it comes to the type of subjects you could teach in Further Education.
From practical professions, such as construction, engineering, health and social care, to more classroom based subjects such as law, digital and maths, there’s a subject to match your experience and skills.
Learn more about the different subjects you could be teaching.
Salary
One of the biggest factors to consider when switching careers is about what you can expect to earn.
Unqualified teachers can earn from £22,000 and qualified teachers salaries start from £27,000. Experienced college teachers can expect to earn up to £47,000.
If you continue your career into college management you could be earning up to £100,000. (These salaries will depend on your experience in teaching, qualifications, location and your level of responsibility.)
There are other benefits a teaching role might offer, including:
- pension schemes
- childcare vouchers
- cycle to work schemes
- support with travel costs
This is not a complete list and benefits and salaries will be different for every FE provider.
Get up to £6000 when you start teaching in a Further Education college
When you start teaching an eligible course in an FE college, you could get an extra payment of up to £6000.
You can claim your payment if you are within the first 5 years of your FE teaching career.
Eligible subjects are:
- building and construction
- computing, including digital, and information and communication technology
- engineering and manufacturing, including transport engineering and electronics
- early years courses leading to a full and relevant qualification to work in an early years setting
- maths, physics and chemistry
To learn more speak to your local college, or chat with one of our specialist advisers.
Daily life as a Further Education teacher
Teaching in Further Education is not like any other job. As well as inspiring the next generation it is also likely you’ll also be working in a different environment than you have before.
You can also see what other things you’ll be expected to do throughout each school term and what your working hours could look like.
Learn more about what an average day for a Further Education teacher could be like.
Search for teaching jobs in Further Education
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