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

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, 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.

“The new Government has made a strong commitment to improving school teacher supply in England. This commitment should apply equally to the FE workforce.”

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.”

“We hope that this research can be used to stimulate consideration of how pay decisions on FE teacher pay can be approached, much like the work of the School Teachers’ Review Body for school teachers, to inform critical policy decisions.”

Other report findings:

• The financial responsibilities of younger workers mean they are generally less able to take the pay cut to move from industry into FE, driving an ageing workforce.
• Interviewees reflected how the support offered by colleges to new staff can vary, and where this is insufficient, it is linked to higher turnover for new recruits.
• The long-awaited FE Workforce Data Collection (FEWDC) is a welcome new source of data on the FE workforce in England. However, further enhancements to the data will be crucial to ensure its longstanding value to the sector.

Sector Reaction

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“Our colleges are starved of the funding they require and they are unable to offer salaries which match those of school teachers or the private sector. This means they frequently struggle to recruit staff with industry-specific training skills.

“The new government has made matters worse by failing to extend to colleges the funding recently allocated for the school teachers’ pay award for 2024/25.

“This has happened at the same time as it is launching a new quango, Skills England, to support delivery of the skills training that is needed by young people and the UK. However, this strategy will not be a success without the necessary investment in the FE workforce.”

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges said:

“This report echoes and evidences what we have long- known to be true: that we have major challenges in FE recruitment and retention, particularly in key sectors like construction, engineering and digital.

“While a lot of staff in FE enjoy flexibilities and benefits they wouldn’t get in industry, the pay gap between FE and secondary school teachers and workers in industry cannot be ignored and is clearly a major barrier to recruiting teachers in colleges and ensuring existing staff feel properly valued and compensated for their workloads.

“I agree with the recommendations set out by the report: an increase in funding to match FE pay with school teachers, a long-term strategy to reduce FE teacher workload, and an enhancement of the FE workforce data collection. Both industry and colleges need to work together to bridge the recruitment gap with those who are suited to a second career in teaching.

“Without skilled lecturers in colleges, skills shortages continue to grow, and the government will simply be unable to deliver on its manifesto commitments on new homes, net zero, a reformed NHS, productivity and economic growth.

“The government has an opportunity in the autumn budget to deliver a significant injection of funding into the sector. Introducing VAT relief for colleges, in the same way it does for schools and academies, would produce around £210 million a year. This could start to help to alleviate the severe recruitment and retention challenges.”

*Interviews were conducted with 34 FE college lecturers and 27 Heads of Department from construction, engineering and digital in 23 colleges in the North East, South East and the West Midlands. The analysis focussed on these three subjects because existing evidence suggests they face the largest industry pay gaps. The three regions were chosen as they cover a variety of different labour market contexts in England where industry earnings may vary.

**Analysis of the interview data was supported by further analysis of secondary data, including the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and the FE Workforce Data Collection (FEWDC). The secondary data analysis in particular informed our estimates of industry pay gaps.