Lifelong Learning

Ready to guide learners of all ages?

Lifelong Learning is a dynamic and essential part of the UK’s education and skills sector. It focuses on teaching and training learners aged 16 and over in a wide range of settings including sixth form and further education colleges, adult and community learning, offender education, and workplace training.

Our part-time Lifelong Learning courses offer a flexible and rewarding route into teaching for professionals with real-world experience. Designed for those already working across diverse sectors - including construction, engineering, health and social care, beauty, hospitality, business, veterinary science, IT, and performing arts - as well as those with an interest in subjects such as English, maths, or social sciences, these courses recognise and build upon your existing skills and knowledge in this diverse and growing field.

By training to teach through our Lifelong Learning courses, you’ll gain:

• A Recognised Teaching Qualification - Upon completion of the course, you'll have a recognised teaching qualification, as well as the opportunity to apply for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status — the professional benchmark that can open doors to teaching roles across the lifelong learning sector.
• Practical Teaching Skills - You’ll develop confidence in planning lessons, managing classrooms, and delivering inclusive, engaging learning tailored to a wide range of learners.
• A Diverse Learning Community - Study alongside fellow professionals from a variety of backgrounds, sharing experiences and best practice to enrich your own teaching.
• Flexibility to Keep Working - Our part-time courses are designed to fit around your existing work and life commitments, so you can continue in your current role while you study.
• The Chance to Make a Real Impact - Support learners of all ages as they gain qualifications, upskill, or retrain — and help shape brighter futures through education.

Whether you're passionate about passing on your industry expertise or supporting others on their learning journey, our Lifelong Learning teacher training courses provide a meaningful way to transition into a rewarding career in education.

The Teacher Education provision within the School of Business, Education and Law at the University of Huddersfield has been graded as GOOD across all phases: Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Lifelong Learning.

“Leaders align an ambitious and high-quality initial teacher education curriculum clearly to the further education and lifelong learning sector (FES). They have high expectations of trainees to move through their training from ‘becoming’ teachers, to ‘being’ teachers”. - Ofsted 2024

Financial support (bursaries)

The Department for Education provides financial support for trainee teachers on some pre-service lifelong learning subjects as a bursary. The eligibility requirements for financial support vary depending on your individual circumstances and the amount you can expect to receive will depend on the subject you choose to teach and your relevant academic qualifications. All bursaries are limited and on a first come first served basis.

The eligible subjects and bursary values are set out in the table below. You can find more information on the Further Education Funding section of the Department for Education website. 

Subject	Bursary
Maths	£31,000
Science (including chemistry, physics and biology)	£31,000
Engineering (and/or manufacturing)	£31,000
Computing	£31,000
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)	£15,000
English (capped at 100 places)	£10,000