PTLLS: TRAINER TRAINING COURSE
City & Guilds 7303: Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector
(four-day course)

The Level 3 Award in Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) is a qualification for candidates who:

• would like or require an introduction to teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector or
• are seeking career progression within their area of work or
• want to teach people working towards recognised qualifications including NVQs
• will are seeking to work towards ATLS/QTLS/DTLLS status or
• teach on a one-to-one or group basis or
• teach either private or non publicly funded courses or
• intend to be trainers in industry, commerce or the post-16 sector

The qualification replaces the City and Guilds 7307 Certificate in Teaching Adult Learners, 7407 Certificate in Further Education Teaching and 7302 Certificate in Delivering Learning. It is is now the minimum requirement for people who wish to teach in post-16 education.  PTLLS is also the first step to a full teacher qualification (QTLS).

Entry requirements

There are no formal entry requirements for this PTLLS teaching qualification training course, but candidates must have a qualification or experience in their subject skill at the appropriate level.

Due the nature of the course candidates should have the ability to manage the requirements including, reading and interpreting written assignments, ability to write answers in a legible and understandable form.  Candidates will normally need to be able to organise written information clearly in order to gain this qualification.

After gaining this PTLLS qualification, candidates should be able to:

Understand own role, responsibilities and boundaries of role in relation to teaching
Understand appropriate teaching and learning approaches in the specialist area
Demonstrate session planning skills
Understand how to deliver inclusive sessions which motivate learners
Understand the use of different assessment methods and the need for record keeping

Support

All candidates on this PTLLS course with Carlton Training will have the support of our team of trained staff and from a wide range of organisational backgrounds and vocational areas.

City & Guilds 7303 Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Learning sector (PTLLS) Award Level 3

Very soon all organisations offering training that are funded by the Government, either directly or indirectly, will require their teachers to have a 7303 PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) certificate.  In other words nearly all deliverers of learning will be required to have this qualification   It will be needed by those providing learning in workplaces and colleges and also where underpinning knowledge is required for particular qualifications.   

PTLLS will give teachers or those wishing to teach in the adult, post compulsory sector, a recognised, good quality award that will enable them to show they have the required skills to deliver training and carry out assessment during that training.

The PTLLS 7303 Level 3 qualification will provide the chance for prospective teachers to achieve a qualification that will allow them to gain entry to the training or teaching world.  They can then progress to a level 4 qualification or a level 5 qualification as they gain experience and expertise - finishing with a full QTLS (Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills) qualification if they so wish.

Grasping the requirement for a PTLLS qualification is dependent on fully comprehending the expression "lifelong learning". The skills needed for teaching in primary and secondary schools differ considerably from those required to teach in the adult education world.  PTLLS is designed to enable those skills required in the post compulsory or “adult education” area to be gained.

A PTLLS qualification is not suitable for those wishing to teach in the compulsory education area i.e. those wishing to teach in primary and or secondary schools.  A PTTLS qualification is suitable for those already in or aiming to enter the adult or post compulsory education arena.  

The PTLLS qualification has been available since 2007.   This qualification has been designed to meet the needs of those teaching or wishing to teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector i.e. the adult education world whether in a college, workplace or community setting. 

The principle difference between compulsory education (learning that takes place in primary or secondary school) and adult education is that adults are taking part in learning for a variety of reasons and not just because the current legislation says they must do so.

The adults in post compulsory education may be learning to further their careers, to acquire a new skill, to perfect an existing skill or to achieve academic or vocational success which eluded them during their time in compulsory education.   In undertaking this learning adults may attend classes on a full time basis, one or two days a week or for an hour or two in the evening.  This great variation in the amount of time that adults devote to their learning means that teachers in the post compulsory education world must plan their lessons well.   Lesson planning is an essential part of the PTLLS qualification.

Guidance on how to plan lessons to assist the teachers and learners to make the best use of the time and resources available is given on PTLLS courses.  Hand in hand with lesson planning is the skill of course planning.   Being able to plan a course of learning over several hours, days, weeks, months or even years is one of the components included to assist teachers ensure that all the necessary topics are covered in the courses they teach and enough time is devoted to each aspect of the course. 

When teaching adult students it is vital that all the students, with their different needs and requirements, are included in the learning process.   PTLLS assists teachers to deliver their teaching in an inclusive and customer friendly way.  Keeping classes motived and involved are skills that can be gained on the PTLLS course.  There are many different teaching methods available for the teacher of adult learners.  Finding out about these different methods and how to use them to facilitate involvement and learning for the adult students is part of the PTLLS process.

A part of the teachers’ role in adult learning is to assess the progress of the students.   Being able to carry out assessments of the students’ learning and of their own teaching is also part of the PTLLS course.   Different types of assessment methods will be discussed and analysed on the PTLLS course.  When and how to carry out assessments is part of the PTLLS course.

To gain a PTLLS qualification some written assignments are required.  These include such topics as the Roles and Responsibilities of a Teacher, How to embed functional skills such as IT, numeracy and literacy into teaching and How to assess learning and What records to keep.  During the PTLLS training course candidates will be required to keep a learning journal, prepare and deliver a micro teaching session as well as evaluating micro teaching sessions delivered by colleagues also on the course. The micro teaching element of the course will assist the candidates to judge whether their lesson planning and methods of assessment are suitable for the group and the subject being taught.   Guidance and advice are available to candidates to enable them to include a range of teaching activities and assessing activities into their teaching.  

It is essential that learners feel that the teaching activities and assessing activities involve and engage them in the learning process.   It is also important that the learners feel that the learning and assessing is relevant for their needs.  Remember that teachers of adults do not have a “captive audience” and there is no legal compulsion for the learners to attend the lessons unlike teachers in primary and secondary education.    

Further Development

Having gained the PTLLS qualification the next step is to gain the CTLLS.   This will enable teachers of adults to have a wider range of teaching and assessing skills and also to have a better chance in the job market of promotion. Both these awards can lead to DTLLS or Qualified Teacher Status. Teaching can be a rewarding and worthwhile career.  It is a respected profession.  Teaching in the post compulsory education sector has the advantage that those who choose to attend courses and classes do so because they have an interest in the topics being taught and have a desire to learn.   Carlton Training offers PTLLS courses at our training centres.  We also provide courses on clients’ own premises.   Our team of experienced, competent and supportive tutors can help you to achieve this award sometimes in a matter of weeks.   We provide expert classroom tuition and guidance as well as on line support for candidates with their written assignments.