Stand at the front of an FE classroom and teach the trade, the subject, the skill that brought you here. The Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) is the qualification UK colleges and adult learning providers require to teach from 16 upwards. Your route into a paid lecturing role.
This is an Ofqual-regulated Level 5 qualification awarded by TQUK (Training Qualifications UK). It meets the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) requirements for teaching in further education, adult and community learning, work-based learning, and sixth-form colleges. The diploma gives you the professional knowledge, practice, and skills to teach your subject to learners aged 16 and above in any FE or skills sector setting.
Studied 100% online over 18 months, the course is delivered at your own pace with full UK tutor support throughout. Your tutor returns feedback on every assignment within 2 working days. There are no written exams, assessment is through a portfolio of teaching practice, lesson planning documents, reflective accounts, and written assignments.
The diploma covers curriculum design and planning, inclusive teaching and learning, assessment for learning, professional values and ethics, subject and vocational pedagogy, and the wider policy context of the FE and skills sector. You develop teaching practice alongside academic understanding, both are assessed.
You will need access to a teaching or training environment to complete your practice hours. This may be in a college, a private training provider, a community learning setting, or a workplace training context. If you are already employed as a fractional or associate lecturer, your existing teaching role will count. We can advise on minimum practice hour requirements at enrolment.
On completion, you hold the recognised qualification for full-time, fractional, and associate lecturer roles in further education, adult education, and the skills sector. FE lecturers typically earn between £26,000 and £44,000 depending on subject specialism, institution type, and responsibility level. The qualification also satisfies the requirements for Associate Teacher status and full Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) progression.
If your subject expertise is real and your drive to teach is genuine, this diploma gives you the professional framework, the observed practice, and the TQUK certification to walk into an FE college interview with confidence. Start anytime. 100% online. 18 months. UK tutor support throughout.
