How to teach in a further education college

In short

You can usually start teaching in further education without a teaching qualification. Colleges hire first for subject and industry expertise, then expect you to train on the job. The standard qualification is the Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills), and the sector’s professional status is QTLS – not QTS.

The single biggest difference from schools

To teach in a state school you need Qualified Teacher Status before you take the job. Further education works the other way round. Government guidance is explicit: you do not always need a teaching qualification to start a job in FE, though most employers will expect you to work towards one. That is why so many college teachers arrive from industry rather than from a university course.

What colleges look for first

Teaching a vocational or technical subject? A degree is not required. You need a Level 3 qualification in your trade – an NVQ Level 3 or City & Guilds, for example – plus substantial professional experience in it.
Teaching an academic subject? You will usually need a degree in that subject or a closely related one.
Everyone needs Level 2 English and maths – GCSE grade 4 (C) or above, or a Level 2 Functional Skills qualification.

Why this matters: more than half of college teaching is vocational. The sector is built to bring in people who have actually done the job, which is why industry experience can count for more than an academic route in.

The teaching qualification: the DiT

The industry standard is the Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills), usually shortened to DiT. Introduced for delivery from September 2024, it replaced the older Diploma in Education and Training (DET) and is recognised across the sector as demonstrating full occupational competence as an FE teacher.

A minimum Level 5 award – but providers can offer it at Level 6 or 7, including as a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education.
A recommended minimum of 360 guided learning hours and 1,200 hours total qualification time.
A teaching placement of at least 250 hours.
Entry requires Level 2 maths and English and the ability to study at Level 5 or above.

Two smaller qualifications sit below it and are often used as a first step or by part-time tutors: the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) and the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET).

Then: QTLS

Completing the DiT makes you eligible to progress to Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS), the professional status for the FE sector. It is worth understanding early, because it is also the route by which an FE teacher can be recognised to teach in schools. See QTLS explained.

Money while you train

Bursaries for FE initial teacher education reach £31,000 for 2026/27 in computing, engineering or manufacturing, mathematics and science – more than the equivalent school bursary. See FE teacher training bursaries.

School teaching and FE teaching, side by side

	State school	FE college
Qualified before you start?	Normally yes – QTS first	Often no – train while employed
Professional status	QTS	QTLS
Main qualification	ITT course, usually with a PGCE	Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (FE and Skills)
Subject entry	Degree in or related to the subject	Degree for academic subjects; Level 3 plus experience for vocational
Pay	National pay scales	Each college sets its own pay
Counted in which statistics?	School Workforce Census	FE Workforce collection

📊 See the college workforce in numbers