Yes — you can move into further education teaching straight from your trade or profession, and often you can start before you are fully qualified. FE teaching runs on occupational competence first: colleges want someone who has genuinely done the job — a plumber, nurse, chef, accountant or engineer — usually evidenced by a Level 3 or higher qualification in your field plus recent industry experience. There has been no statutory requirement to hold a teaching qualification to lecture in FE in England since 1 September 2013, so you can be taken on as an unqualified teacher and gain the teaching qualification on the job. In practice colleges expect you to be qualified or working towards it, usually starting with the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) and building to the full Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills). A further education teacher earns roughly £28,000 to £47,000 (National Careers Service, 2026).
Figures here are indicative and dated. The salary range is the National Careers Service "Further Education Teacher" profile (accessed July 2026); pay varies by subject, region, provider and whether the role is teaching adults, 16–18s on study programmes, or higher-level provision. Treat it as a guide, not a fixed rate.
Do you need a teaching qualification to teach in FE?
There is no legal requirement to hold a teaching qualification to lecture in further education in England. The regulations that once mandated it (introduced in 2007) were revoked from 1 September 2013, following the Lingfield review — so a college can employ you to teach on the strength of your industry background alone. This is post-16 and adult teaching, not schoolteaching, and the two run on different rules; nothing here is about qualified teacher status for schools.
What has not changed is what colleges expect in practice. Almost every FE teaching advert asks for a teaching qualification "or a willingness to work towards one", because providers are judged on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. So the honest answer is: legally optional, professionally expected. You can enter without one, but you will be expected to qualify while you teach. That gap between the letter of the law and what employers actually hire on is exactly where an industry candidate needs guidance — and it is good news, because it means you do not have to fund and finish a qualification before you can earn.
What qualifications do you need — and in what order?
The FE teaching qualifications form a ladder, and you usually climb it while working. The introductory step is the Level 3 AET; the full teaching qualification most colleges want you working towards is the Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills). One point of currency matters here: that Level 5 Diploma replaced the DET (Diploma in Education and Training) for new starts from September 2024 — the DET is withdrawn for new registrations, so any course or advert still calling for a "DET" is out of date.
| Qualification | Level | What it is for | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| AET — Award in Education and Training | Level 3 | Introductory teaching qualification (formerly PTLLS); the entry point | Start here — often just before or soon after you begin teaching |
| CET — Certificate in Education and Training | Level 4 | The step up (formerly CTLLS), for a more substantial teaching role | Middle — as your teaching hours and responsibility grow |
| Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) | Level 5 | The full FE teaching qualification; replaced the DET for new starts from September 2024 | The qualification most colleges want you working towards |
| PGCE (FE) or Cert Ed | Level 7 (PGCE) / Level 5 (Cert Ed) | University teacher-training routes into FE — note a PGCE (FE) is not a PGCE with QTS for schools | An alternative full route, often via a university partner |
| QTLS — Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills | Professional status (after the full teaching qualification) | FE professional status, gained through Professional Formation with the Society for Education and Training (SET) | After you qualify — the professional recognition step |
There is also an apprenticeship route — the Learning and Skills Teacher (Level 5) — which lets you earn while you train in a teaching role. If you want the full picture of how these titles relate, and how teaching qualifications differ from assessing ones, our explainer on how FE teaching and assessing qualifications fit together sets them side by side before you pay for anything. And because QTLS is the status that gives parity with qualified teacher status when SET membership is maintained, it is worth understanding whether QTLS is worth it for your FE career before you commit to it.
If you would rather earn while you qualify, the FE teaching roles worth targeting are the ones that hire on a "qualified or working towards" basis — the openings that take you on for your trade.
Can you start teaching before you're qualified?
Yes — and for career-changers this is usually the realistic route. The National Careers Service is explicit that you can apply directly to work as an unqualified further education teacher if you have a minimum of a Level 3 qualification and substantial experience in your industry, then complete a teaching qualification once you are in post; some employers will help fund that training (National Careers Service, 2026).
In practice that means a college takes you on for your occupational competence, gives you a teaching timetable, and enrols you on the AET and then the Level 5 Diploma — often through an in-house programme or an awarding body-approved provider — while you teach. You learn to plan lessons, assess learners and manage a group by doing it, with a qualification wrapped around the job rather than sat in front of it. It is the same principle whether you are teaching adults on evening provision or 16–18s on a study programme: subject competence gets you through the door, and the teaching qualification is built on top of it. The one thing you cannot shortcut is the industry experience itself — that is the part a college cannot teach you, and the reason they are hiring from your trade in the first place.
What do colleges actually look for from an industry candidate?
A training provider will sell you a course; it will not tell you how a head of department reads your CV. From our day-to-day work recruiting across FE and skills, the single thing that separates a strong industry-entry application is occupational currency — how recent and credible your hands-on experience is. A chef who left a working kitchen last year is a far easier hire than one who left a decade ago, because colleges need a teacher whose knowledge matches the standards learners are being assessed against today.
After currency, colleges look for two things. First, evidence of your subject at Level 3 or above — the qualification that proves you have met the standard you will be teaching towards. Second, a genuine willingness to gain the teaching qualification, because the provider carries the risk and cost of getting you through the AET and Diploma. Show up with current industry credibility, a subject qualification and a clear commitment to qualify on the job, and you are the candidate FE providers are actively short of. If you want the fuller picture of the classroom role you are stepping into, our guide on how to become an FE lecturer walks through the day-to-day.
If your industry experience is current and you are ready to qualify on the job, that is exactly the profile colleges are short of — see the teaching roles open now.
What does an FE teacher earn?
The National Careers Service puts the further education teacher range at £28,000 for a starter to £47,000 for an experienced teacher (2026), typically over a 37–40 hour week. Where you sit in that band depends on your subject, your provider and your region — colleges set their own pay, and there is no single national FE scale, so the number is a guide rather than a promise.
In our experience, two things move you up the range. One is teaching a shortage subject where industry pays more than education — the technical, construction, engineering, health and digital areas where colleges struggle to recruit people with current experience. The other is adding recognised professional status: completing the full teaching qualification and gaining QTLS signals to employers that you are a settled, credible FE professional rather than someone trying it out. Coming from industry, you may take a pay cut against your trade at first, but the trade-off is stability, holidays and the pull of the work itself — which is what carries most career-changers through the qualifying period.
How Aptitude can help
We recruit only across the further education, skills, apprenticeships and employability sectors, and the founders came from delivery roles in it — so we know the difference between what an FE advert legally requires and what a head of department actually shortlists on. If you are moving into teaching from a trade or profession, we can tell you honestly where your industry experience will carry the most weight, which providers hire on a "qualify on the job" basis, and where your subject is genuinely short of teachers. See our advice for candidates, and talk to us before you assume you need to be fully qualified to apply.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PGCE (FE) the same as a PGCE with QTS? No. A PGCE (FE), like a Cert Ed, prepares you to teach in further education and skills — post-16 and adult provision. It is not a PGCE with qualified teacher status (QTS) for schools, and the two are separate routes. FE has its own professional status, QTLS, gained through Professional Formation with the Society for Education and Training after you complete the full teaching qualification.
Has the DET been replaced? Yes. The Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) replaced the DET (Diploma in Education and Training) for new starts from September 2024. The DET is withdrawn for new registrations, so it is only current for legacy cohorts already part-way through. Any advert or course still asking for a "DET" as the qualification to gain is out of date — the current title is the Level 5 Diploma in Teaching.
How much does an FE teacher get paid? The National Careers Service gives a range of £28,000 for a starter to £47,000 for an experienced further education teacher (2026), over a typical 37–40 hour week. Pay is set by individual colleges and varies by subject, provider and region, so treat it as an indicative, dated guide. Shortage subjects and full professional status (QTLS) tend to sit at the upper end.
What is QTLS, and do you need it to teach in FE? QTLS — Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills — is FE professional status, awarded through Professional Formation with the Society for Education and Training once you hold a full teaching qualification. It is not a legal requirement to teach in further education, but it gives parity with qualified teacher status (QTS) for as long as SET membership is maintained, and many colleges value or expect it for permanent teaching roles.
