Post Compulsory Education and Training (PcET) - PGCE

University of South Wales

United Kingdom, Cardiff

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Home/United Kingdom/Cardiff /University of South Wales/Post Compulsory Education and Training (PcET) - PGCE

University of South Wales

United Kingdom , Cardiff

Key Facts

Program Level

Graduate Certificate

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Course Code

2V9X

Campuses

Newport

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 1 year (s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 17,900 / year

Next Intake September-2026

Post Compulsory Education and Training (PcET) - PGCE

About

This course prepares you for a career as a teacher in the post-compulsory education and training sector. You’ll attend collaborative learning sessions, work on a PcET placement with a mentor and colleagues, and undertake independent study to develop values, knowledge, and skills. Full-time students will complete six modules in one-year, and part-time students will complete three modules each year.

Planning for Learning
This module acts as a foundation and underpins the starting points for the course. You’ll be introduced to planning principles for short-term and long-term planning through completion of a peer-teach and scheme of learning.

Assessing for Learning
In this module, you’ll develop assessment principles and understand how these are used to create assessment tools and learner profiles, designing activities that meet the needs of learners.

Developing Professional Practice
This module includes planning, resourcing, and teaching a minimum of 50 hours including 3 successful observations of your teaching. During this time, you will also observe qualified teachers and consider how to develop from challenging incidents.

Practice-based Research
This module develops research-informed practice in response to a challenge experienced in your teaching at placement. You’ll develop research skills such as interviewing and other data collection to inform pedagogical actions as part of an action research cycle.

Literacies for Learning
This module explores ideas about communication and literacy e.g., digital, visual, graphic, written, and numerical in everyday life and teaching. You’ll be assessed via a noticeboard and an interactive exhibition.

Extending Professional Practice
This module extends from Developing Professional Practice, and includes further planning, resourcing, and teaching of a further minimum of 50 hours including another 3 successful observations of your teaching.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Academic Qualifications

Students who have completed a 4 year Bachelor degree (60% overall or a GPA of 2.5 or above on the scale of 4, 4 being the highest) can be considered for entry onto a relevant postgraduate programme of study.
Applicants with other relevant qualifications or work experience may be considered on a case by case basis.

English Program Requirements

English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.

If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.

Career

Career Paths

Teacher
Learning Mentor
Trainer
Tutor

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

Our graduates find success across a wide range of sectors within Post Compulsory Education and Training (PcET), including colleges, training providers like ACT, adult and community learning, work-based learning environments, and prison settings. Many of our students secure full or part-time roles in the institutions where they completed their placements, thanks to the strong professional network and real-world opportunities provided throughout the course.

Possible career paths

Graduates often progress into rewarding careers as PcET practitioners, contributing to the development of education in a diverse range of settings. Past students of this course have secured roles as teachers, learning mentors and tutors. Additionally, upon completion of this qualification, many go on to further their education by pursuing further degrees in education at postgraduate level (MA Education), continuing their professional growth and expanding their career potential.

Careers Support

Alongside the careers service at USW, the Post Compulsory Education and Training teaching team offers personalized career support throughout the course. You’ll receive tutorials on building professional networks, mock interview sessions, and employment preparation. In your final term, you'll have a dedicated destination planning session with your personal tutor, and the teaching team will be available for guidance on job applications and job searching. Additionally, many of our past students return as mentors, providing valuable advice and support to new cohorts of teacher trainees.