Further Education teachers paid 23 per cent less than peers across the education sector, says new report

Building a stronger FE college workforce: How improving pay and working conditions can help support FE college teacher supply

Teachers in Further Education (FE) colleges may earn nearly a quarter less than teachers in schools, according to a new NFER study.

FE teachers also tend to earn less than their peers in industry jobs in the construction, engineering and digital sectors, and these gaps have widened significantly over the last decade, contributing to ongoing challenges for FE teacher recruitment and retention in England.

The findings are revealed in a new NFER report, Building a stronger FE college workforce: How improving pay and working conditions can help support FE college teacher supply (link to report), commissioned by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.

The analysis was based on interviews with FE college teachers and Heads of Department in construction, engineering and digital in the North East, South East and the West Midlands, alongside analysis of secondary data sources.

Many interviewees reflected on how FE teaching is a fulfilling role which may bring benefits compared to working in certain industry sectors or self-employment. This can include better pension benefits and longer, paid holidays. In addition, some FE teachers coming from the construction sector reported the opportunity to work more locally and have more sociable, less irregular hours.

However, data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reveals that in 2021 (the latest year of data available when the analysis was undertaken), engineering and digital FE teachers earned 11 per cent less than those working in industry. In construction, FE teachers earned three per cent less than in industry, though this excludes pay in self-employment which the analysis suggests might make the construction pay gap larger.

The research goes on to suggest some college strategies designed to close industry pay gaps can in the longer term exacerbate the problem. Recruiting new teachers at the top of the pay scale can lead to subsequent poor pay progression, and impact on morale and retention.

Interviewees also complained of high workload, often relating to unfulfilling administrative work. Worsening student behaviour and mental health challenges since the pandemic have also exacerbated the challenge of retaining FE teachers.

The report calls on the Government to increase funding to the FE sector so colleges can at least match teacher pay in secondary schools.

It also calls for a long-term strategy and concrete resources to help reduce workload – a principle that already exists for state-sector primary and secondary teachers.

NFER Economist and report co-author, Dawson McLean said: “Further Education plays a key part in England’s education system by delivering the technical and academic training vital to the supply of skilled workers. However, a historical lack of policy focus on the FE workforce, alongside insufficient funding for colleges to maintain competitive teacher pay, has led to enormous challenges. Worsening pay gaps with industry and school teachers, together with high workload, puts the FE workforce at a significant disadvantage for recruitment and retention.

Jenifer Burden, Director of Programmes at Gatsby said: "The shortage of further education teachers in certain fields, such as construction and engineering, is a persistent issue in England. Nationally nearly half of FE teachers leave the profession within three years. Pay is a significant factor but other elements impact on teachers’ choices. We need better data about the numbers of individuals training for FE teaching and their experience.

Download the full report