Further Education teaching and why it’s great for parents seeking flexibility

Whether you’ve taken time away from your career to raise children, want to make a meaningful impact without starting over, or wish to pass on your professional legacy, teaching in further education (FE) offers a rewarding path forward. 

FE is education for learners aged 16 and over who aren’t in school or studying for a degree. In settings such as colleges, FE offers diverse teaching opportunities, from hands-on workshops to classroom-based learning, across technical, vocational and academic subjects. This helps prepare learners for work in their chosen field. A career in FE also provides:

• A chance to help shape the next generation of workers in your field without changing your career

• Part time or flexible contracts so you can find a role that fits alongside you and your life

• A chance to make a positive impact on students' lives, your own life and wider society

• Alignment with school holidays for greater work-life balance

Your firsthand experience within a subject or industry is invaluable for teaching students in FE. If you have a passion to share your knowledge with others, a career in FE teaching could provide an enriching one for you.

Working as a teacher in FE is something our Mumsnetters have found a lot of fulfilment with.

“I've been teaching in FE for 12 years now, I love it and I love the work”, shared Mumsnet user GagaBinks. Fellow Mumsnetter gingersnappz agrees: “It's hard work but comes with a lot of satisfaction.”

Using your existing skills and experience

It may not be a vocation you’ve previously considered but your skills are what could make you a great FE teacher!

If you’ve worked in a professional career, there’ll likely be a course in FE to match. For example, whether you worked in healthcare, business, technology, creative industries, or trades before having children, those skills and knowledge can be directly transferred to teaching learners aged 16 and above.

You could be helping learners obtain:

• T-Levels (technical qualifications equivalent to 3 A-Levels)

• BTECs (Level 1 to Level 7)

• Apprenticeships (Level 1 to Level 7)

• Entry level courses

Why is industry experience valuable in FE teaching?

A career as an FE teacher enables you to share your years of industry experience and plan lessons based around the skills you know will best empower your students. It’s a great way to ensure the legacy with your trade or industry, as you are shaping and inspiring the next generation of workers.

Plus, the flexible working options mean you don’t have to leave your career. Teaching in FE alongside your current job will only strengthen your knowledge of the industry and the skills required to succeed.

“Pivoting my career to teach in FE has been a great way to stay connected to my current industry while using my existing skills in a new way. From communication to project management, through to understanding individual needs, there are so many transferable skills I’ve brought from industry which help me in my FE teaching role.” FE teacher Luci Martin St Valery explains. “As an IT professional, I can bring real life examples from industry to my teaching and there is lots of flexibility within the job with part time and flexible contracts available. I’d encourage other working parents to consider whether it could be a good career for them.”

How Further Education teaching offers work-life balance

Luci Martin St Valery teaches Computer Science and ICT at Godalming College. For Luci, the work-life balance is what makes the career such an appealing one, especially as a mother.

"My daughter has always struggled with holiday clubs and childcare, children really need downtime during the holidays to recover from term time,” she explains. 

“Working as a teacher in FE means my holidays are much longer than they were when I was working in the finance sector, and they correlate to her school holidays. This allows me to be around more and feel much more present than when I was commuting to London every day for my IT job. 

Luci also has a certain amount of flexibility in her job during term-time, if something important needs to be attended during college hours.  

As Luci describes: “If there's an important event at my children's school, I can sometimes swap classes with colleagues as most of our subjects are taught jointly.”

FE gives you flexibility to do it your way

Training while parenting and realistic pathways

One of the biggest barriers for parents returning to work is finding time for retraining. FE teaching offers several parent-friendly pathways, including:

1. Train while you work 

You don’t always need an academic degree or prior teaching qualifications to take up a role in FE teaching. Many colleges allow you to teach while working toward your teaching qualifications, meaning you can earn while you learn.

2. Part-time qualification options 

Teaching qualifications can be completed part-time, fitting around childcare and family commitments.

Less stress, more satisfaction 

Parents returning to work often worry about managing stress alongside family responsibilities. FE teaching offers distinct advantages in this area. 

Our Mumsnetters have shared that FE teaching provides more freedom with lesson planning. As learners are aged 16+ and adults, they tend to be more independent. As sashh explains: “[There is] more freedom in how you teach things. Using my industry experience, I can shape my lessons around what I know will really benefit my students.”

More so, working with learners can be incredibly rewarding. “Being in the classroom, working with students on their projects is probably one of the most rewarding things,” Luci shares. “They work on a project that they choose themselves, they project manage it. 

“The way they get these amazing ideas and fly with them is fantastic.”

In FE, teaching people who are 16 and above means you are engaging with learners who have made the conscious decision to study the subject and use it as a stepping stone into their onward career. Luci says this enables her to concentrate on letting fresh minds flourish in the field she loves.

“I can focus on teaching and assessment, as well as other areas I’m interested in, like encouraging more women into STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).”

FE gives you flexibility to do it your way - using your professional expertise you can help shape the lessons you want to teach.

Teaching in FE is a great opportunity to pass on the knowledge you already have

Building your schedule around family life

Teaching in FE provides flexibility that can work well around your family commitments: 

• Choose part-time hours that align with school or nursery schedules

• Option to work from home when planning or marking

• Coordinate with your partner's schedule for childcare coverage if needed

• Longer holidays between term times

As Mumsnetter timetodecide2345 notes: “FE worked for me at a certain point in my career as it was flexible. I dropped my hours up and down for the 9 years I was there and stayed there those 9 years because it worked around kids.”

What subjects can you teach in Further Education?

There are hundreds of academic, vocational and technical courses taught in FE. Whatever your skills, there’s likely a job in FE to match them. For example, you can teach:

• Work related courses in subjects, such as construction, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare and digital and IT

• Academic subjects like English and Maths

• Basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, as well as English for non-speakers, and support for those with special needs

Click here to see a longer list of subjects taught in FE.

What training qualifications do you need to teach in Further Education?

Your passion and real-world industry experience are what makes you great for the role in FE teaching.

To become a qualified FE teacher, you usually need a Level 2 (GCSE or equivalent) in Maths and English. If you don't have these qualifications already, your employer may be able to support you achieving these on the job and in a way that works for your schedule.

You will also need to work towards a teaching qualification at Level 5 or above, or a Level 5 FE teaching apprenticeship. This qualification is often funded by your employer but be sure to check directly with the college.

It's very common to get started in a new teaching role while working towards your qualification, meaning you can get started right away.

Be sure to check the further education job description in detail, as colleges will usually explain if training on the job is an option.

Find out more about the qualifications you need to teach in FE.

Passion and real-world experience are great for FE teaching

Finding FE teaching jobs that fit your family needs

When searching for FE teaching positions, consider:

• Proximity to home/children's schools

• Part-time options clearly stated in job descriptions

• Roles that utilise the professional skills from your previous career

Job listings can be found on:

• Association of Colleges jobs

• FE Jobs

• College websites in your local area

Click here for more information on searching for your perfect FE teaching role.

Take the next step

Teaching in FE is a great opportunity to pass on the knowledge you already have and help shape the next generation. 

To find out more about how you can share your skills, visit the Teach in Further Education website. 

About the author

Kat Romero is a writer and journalist with over a decade’s experience in the industry. Hailing from London, she has become experienced in scouring the market to find the latest and best products and services that are designed to make parents’ lives easier. Away from her desk, Kat can be found consuming far too much coffee and spending her weekends with her toddler and partner - soaking up the sights of London and sampling anything new and exciting that has opened up within walking distance.

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