New data on the further education (FE) workforce released for the first time by DfE today reveals that FE teachers working in general FE colleges earn significantly less than their colleagues working in other educational institutions. In 2021/22, the median salary for an FE teacher working full time in a general FE college was £33,426.
Notwithstanding how the characteristics of FE teachers in FE colleges may differ from those teaching in other institutions (e.g. in number of years of experience), overall this was over £6,000 lower than for a classroom teacher in the schools sector in the same year. It was also nearly £9,000 lower than for a FE teacher working in a sixth-form college.
The data shows that, across all FE providers at the end of the 2021/22 academic year, there were 5.4 vacant teaching positions per 100 teaching positions. These rates differed by region, with the highest rate in Yorkshire and the Humber at 8.5 vacancies per 100 teaching positions. Vacancy rates differed by subjects, with construction, electronics, agriculture and engineering and manufacturing subjects all double the national average.
The data also reveals that, while there were about 10 times more teaching staff in general FE colleges than sixth form colleges, the latter had lower vacancy rates (1.4 per 100) than the former (5.7 per 100).
