Postgraduate Certificate Further Education and Skills

Are you passionate about starting or developing a career in teaching and learning? Progress your skills in the lifelong learning sector, and pursue a successful career teaching in a college, training provider, charity, prison, with this ideal qualification.

Throughout the course, you'll look at several areas that will each help you achieve your goal of becoming a teacher. You'll develop your personal and professional skills as you learn about teaching, learning and curriculum development. You'll also focus on your subject specialist area, putting a significant amount of your learning into practice in your place of work.

This course is an award of the Sheffield Hallam University and is an ideal route for you to work towards being a fully qualified teacher and to help you to gain the full professional status for teachers in Lifelong Learning (QTLS).

You are required to complete a Pre interview written task and if satisfactory you will be invited for an interview and provide evidence of your existing qualifications.

You should ideally be in employment as a teacher or trainer at a recognised training or educational establishment. The course is particularly suitable if you have work experience and/or qualifications in industry, including business and administration, hair and beauty, health and social care, uniformed services or armed forces, construction, engineering and many other vocational areas.

You should identify a work-based mentor who can support you in your subject specialism.

You should have 150 hours of teaching practice which runs across the duration of the course. These hours will need to be carried out within more than one setting and there will be a small amount of hours which will need to be delivered online.
You are required to arrange your own teaching placement as this is an in-service course. You can be employed as a teacher/lecturer or you can be a volunteer on placement.

Mature applicants (aged 21 or over) who are able to demonstrate relevant skills or knowledge gained in employment or vocational activity will be considered and may be invited to interview.

The course is run in a classroom environment, allowing you to share your ideas and reflections with your peers. You'll receive tutorial support and sessions focused on wider areas in lifelong learning throughout your course. In addition, you'll need to complete at least 100 hours of teaching per year.

Examples of assessments on the course include:
• Micro teach to peers
• Personal skills presentation
• Written assignments including essays, reports and reflective journals
• Reflective journals and accounts of your teaching
• Online personalised portfolio identifying skills development and areas to improve
• Teaching observations, evaluations and reflections
• Specialist conference paper supported by an online subject specialist tutor
• Self and peer assessment

When you've successfully completed the programme, you can advance onto a Level 6 BA/BA (Hons) Education and Professional Development at an HEI

You could also progress on to the City and Guilds Level 5 Specialist Diplomas in teaching English or maths.

There are two main costs you will have whilst studying and if you are a home student studying on a full-time course, you can apply for student finance to cover both of these:

- Your tuition fees for each year of your course.
- Help with your living costs e.g. rent, food, clothing, course materials, entertainment.

You can find more details, including the actual tuition fee charged on our Fees, Funding and Finance Page.