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- Teach a variety of students on work-related learning
- Can range from part time work teaching evening classes through to full time lecturing
- You'll normally train in a specialist subject area first then gain a teaching qualification
As a further education lecturer, you may teach in further education colleges, sixth-form colleges, community colleges or adult education centres.
You could teach academic subjects leading to qualifications, vocational courses for those learning trades for qualifications like City & Guilds or BTEC diplomas in colleges or schools, or leisure and hobby courses, like photography. You may use a variety of teaching methods like seminars, tutorials and demonstrations.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Interviewing potential students
- Planning and preparing lessons and submitting plans to management
- Working with exam boards in setting and marking essays and exams
- Checking students' progress and acting as a personal tutor
- Working with course teams to develop new courses and teaching materials
- Carrying out admin tasks like keeping records and ordering resources
- Taking part in meetings and events like open days
- Attending training courses and keeping up with professional development
- Supervising practical work within health and safety guidelines
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could teach full-time, part-time (day or evening) or day-release courses. You could work at a college, at a school or in a prison.
You'll need
To be a further education lecturer, you'll need the ability to engage and motivate students of all ages and abilities, the ability to express yourself clearly in speech and writing, sensitivity and understanding, creativity to design activities and materials, organisational and planning skills, and basic computer skills with competency of the main software packages.
You can do a degree in a subject that is taught in further education, that includes qualified teacher status (QTS). If you have a degree in a curriculum subject without QTS, you can get it by completing either a postgraduate teacher training course at university, or a school-based training programme.
You can do a teaching qualification at college, including courses in Education and Training. You'll be expected to have a lot of experience, and qualifications in the subject you want to teach, with access to a minimum of 100 hours of teaching practice to apply for this course.
You can complete a learning and skills teacher higher apprenticeship. You'll need a qualification in the subject you want to teach and relevant up-to-date industry experience. Competency in English, maths and IT is beneficial.
Direct application to job vacancies is possible if you have several years' experience and qualifications in a trade, such as plumbing or hairdressing. Then you could train on the job with your employer's support. You can also apply directly to work in further education if you're a school teacher with qualified teacher status.
It may be useful to have experience of working with young people through either paid work or volunteering.
You will need a background check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could become a senior lecturer or head of department, or move into management. You could also become a training assessor, examiner, or write textbooks or online education resources.