Further education lecturer: Career development

It is possible to progress to senior lecturer, curriculum manager, head of department or divisional manager, but restricted college budgets have resulted in fewer management posts.

Career development is also possible by taking on additional non-teaching responsibilities, such as working in a pastoral role or as an admissions tutor. Some further education (FE) lecturers retrain to become support tutors, e.g. providing one-to-one support for students with dyslexia, or may deliver programmes for The Prince's Trust .

Some lecturers move out of a lecturing role and into college management in areas such as finance, quality standards, admissions, human resources and guidance.

Management posts often require relevant professional qualifications and experience and attract suitably qualified applicants from outside the education sector. Therefore, it may be necessary to pursue appropriate professional qualifications while working as a lecturer, such as an MBA or an NVQ in Advice and Guidance.

It is also possible to move into other branches of education, such as higher education (HE) or training. In the present climate of school teacher shortages, some lecturers have moved into schools to work as instructors, especially in those areas where schools have not traditionally offered the subject, particularly psychology or law. FE lecturers may also work as personal tutors, working with students in their own homes.

Since April 2012, schools are now able to employ members of the Institute for Learning (IfL)  with Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status as qualified teachers, regardless of whether their background is in schools or FE.