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(Further Education Lecturer, FE Teacher, PLC Tutor, Continuing Education Teacher)
Education & Training
Salary
€37,000 - €70,000/yr
Level
Professional
Outlook
Stable
Sector
Education & Training
Further Education Teachers design and deliver vocational and academic programmes for adult learners in Education and Training Board (ETB) colleges and Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) centres across Ireland. You teach a broad range of subjects — from business, ICT and languages to trades-related and personal development modules — adapting your approach to suit learners who bring varied life and work experience to the classroom. Your daily work involves planning lessons, assessing learner progress, providing feedback and managing a classroom environment that respects the diversity of adult students. You collaborate closely with programme coordinators, guidance counsellors and fellow teachers to ensure learners achieve their QQI awards and progress to employment or higher education. Supporting learners who may have been out of formal education for some time is a rewarding but demanding aspect of the role.
Listen: a day as a Further Education Teacher
You arrive at the ETB college just before half eight, badge in at the main office and check your pigeonhole for any printed memos from the programme coordinator. Before your first class you log into the college's learner management system to confirm attendance records from yesterday and flag one learner who has missed three consecutive sessions — you'll need to complete a retention support form later and alert the guidance counsellor. At nine o'clock you take your Level 5 Business Administration class. There are fourteen learners, ranging in age from nineteen to fifty-two. Today's session focuses on a QQI work experience portfolio component, so you walk them through the specific evidence requirements and answer questions about word counts and reflective writing. You use the college's shared projector and a printed QQI assessment brief, keeping things practical and grounded.
A relevant Honours Bachelor degree (NFQ Level 8) in your subject specialism is the typical minimum requirement for teaching in further education in Ireland. Many teachers hold a postgraduate qualification such as a Professional Master of Education (PME) or a Graduate Diploma in Education (Further Education), both at NFQ Level 9, offered by institutions such as UCD, DCU or MIC Limerick. Registration with the Teaching Council is required to teach in ETB-funded further education settings, and you must meet the Council's specific qualifications criteria for the further education sector. Leaving Certificate subjects such as Irish, English, Mathematics, a science, a business subject or a technology subject can all provide a foundation depending on your chosen specialism. Some routes into further education teaching come via industry expertise combined with a postgraduate teaching qualification, which is particularly common in trade and technology subjects. Continuous professional development (CPD) is expected throughout your career to keep curriculum content and pedagogical practice current.
Most Further Education Teachers begin their careers after completing a relevant degree and a postgraduate teaching qualification, often taking fixed-term or part-time contracts with an ETB before securing a permanent position. With experience, teachers can take on roles such as programme coordinator, department head or adult guidance counsellor within their college. Senior roles include Assistant Principal and Principal Officer within ETB colleges, which involve strategic planning, staff management and liaison with SOLAS and the Department of Further and Higher Education. Some experienced teachers move into curriculum development, quality assurance roles with QQI, or into teacher education at third level.
AI tools are beginning to assist Further Education Teachers with the creation of differentiated learning materials, automated formative feedback and the tracking of individual learner progress, reducing some administrative burden. However, the relational and motivational dimensions of working with adult learners — many of whom face significant personal barriers to education — are areas where human judgement and empathy remain central and cannot be replicated by AI. Teachers will increasingly need to help learners develop AI literacy as part of a broad digital skills curriculum, integrating responsible use of AI tools into classroom practice. Overall, AI is likely to change how teachers prepare and deliver content rather than reduce the overall demand for skilled further education professionals.
→ Further Education Teacher (Current role)
Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Dublin City
Delivers PLC and adult education programmes across Dublin colleges.
Cork City and County
Operates FE colleges offering vocational and academic adult programmes.
Galway and Roscommon
Employs FE teachers across trades, business and community education.
Limerick and Clare
Runs PLC and Youthreach centres requiring qualified FE teaching staff.
Co. Tipperary
Delivers vocational and personal development courses for adult learners.
Co. Kildare and Co. Wicklow
Employs FE teachers in PLC colleges and community education settings.
Coolock, Dublin 17
Large FE college teaching ICT, business and healthcare PLC programmes.
Killester, Dublin 5
Delivers QQI-accredited PLC courses across business, arts and languages.
Crumlin, Dublin 12
Provides FE teaching roles across trades, digital media and humanities.
Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim
Recruits FE teachers for rural PLC and adult literacy programmes.
Co. Donegal
Employs teachers delivering bilingual and vocational FE programmes.
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