Career Suggestion

Skills for life teacher

Skills for life teachers work with adults and sometimes 16 to 18-year-olds to improve their English, maths and IT skills

Average salary (a year)

£26000.0 to £36000.0 (starter to experienced)

Typical hours (a week)

35.0 to 40.0 variable

You could work

evenings

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship

University

If you have a degree in a relevant subject, without qualified teacher status, you can apply for a postgraduate teacher training course like:

  • postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE)
  • professional graduate diploma in education (PGDE) in teaching disabled adults

You can find more details about postgraduate courses on GOV.UK.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths

  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

More Information

  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • finance for postgraduate courses|https://www.gov.uk/funding-for-postgraduate-study
  • university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/

College

You can do a college course to complete a recognised teaching qualification.

Qualifications include:

  • Certificate in Education (Cert Ed)
  • Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training
  • Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training with a specialist pathway for teaching literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), or teaching disabled learners

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths

  • 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course

More Information

  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • search for courses|/find-a-course

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Learning and Skills Teacher Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship.

This typically takes around 2 years to complete.

You'll need a qualification or experience in the subject you want to teach.

You'll also need to show ability in English, maths and IT.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

Volunteering

To find out if you're suited to this type of teaching, you could do some voluntary work, although this is not essential.

You can find out about volunteering opportunities at Do IT or at NCVO.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a skills for life teacher from:

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • the ability to work on your own
  • leadership skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
  • customer service skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

You'll need a minimum of a level 3 qualification, like an A level, in the subject you wish to teach.

Day-to-day tasks

As a skills for life teacher, you could:

  • carry out skills assessments on students
  • talk to students about what they want to achieve
  • design learning plans to suit the needs and abilities of students
  • prepare teaching materials and keep accurate records
  • use a range of paper based and online resources to teach
  • deliver individual and group teaching sessions
  • guide and support learning support assistants and volunteers

Working environment

You could work in the community, at a training centre or at an adult education centre.

There may be opportunities to move into more senior roles, like head of department, or to train other teachers.

You might also be self-employed and work as a freelance teacher.

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