Progress Coach

A Progress Coach supports learners - usually apprentices, further education students or people on government-funded training programmes - to complete their course and stay on track. You hold regular one-to-one reviews, monitor whether someone is hitting their targets, chase up missing coursework or attendance, and step in with support (academic, pastoral or practical) when a learner is at risk of dropping out. You work for colleges, independent training providers, apprenticeship providers and some large employers who train their own staff.

Starting salary: £24k–£30k
Live graduate jobs: 1 open now
Main way in: Direct application after graduation
They usually ask for: A degree is often welcomed but genuinely not always required

Approximate graduate salary

Typically around £24,000–£30,000 to start, though this varies widely by employer, region and whether you hold teaching or assessing qualifications. London and specialist or senior caseloads sit higher; some private training providers add performance-related elements tied to learner achievement.

What you'd actually do

Running scheduled one-to-one review meetings with a caseload of learners, either in a college, on an employer's premises, or over video call - discussing progress, setting targets and recording what was agreed
Updating an electronic portfolio or learner management system (common ones in the sector include e-portfolio platforms where evidence, targets and review notes are logged) - this record-keeping is a big chunk of the week and is scrutinised in audits and inspections
Chasing learners who have stopped attending or stopped submitting work, by phone, text and email, and working out whether the barrier is childcare, mental health, money, transport or disengagement
Holding three-way reviews with an apprentice and their workplace line manager to check the apprentice is getting the off-the-job training hours and workplace experience their programme requires

Show 3 more

Flagging safeguarding, wellbeing or additional learning needs concerns to the designated safeguarding lead or learning support team, and making referrals to counselling, financial support or study skills help
Delivering short group sessions or tutorials on things like employability, British Values, Prevent, equality and diversity, or exam technique - the amount of actual teaching varies a lot by employer
Preparing learners for end-point assessment (the final independent assessment on an apprenticeship) or for exam resits in English and maths

How graduates get in

Direct application after graduation - this is the most common route. Progress Coach roles are advertised openly by colleges and training providers and often accept applicants without prior FE experience, provided you can show you have worked with young people or adults in some supportive capacity.
Moving sideways from a related support role - learning support assistant, student services adviser, youth worker, careers adviser or employment coach at a welfare-to-work provider. Very common, and these roles are also open to graduates.
Coming in from industry with vocational expertise - someone who has worked in construction, hairdressing, business administration or care and wants to move into training. Common in the sector generally, though less relevant if you are coming straight from a degree.
Graduate schemes aimed at education and social mobility (teaching and education-sector leadership programmes) sometimes place people into FE or training-provider roles, though these usually lead to teaching rather than coaching specifically.

Show 2 more

Working first as a teaching assistant or in a school sixth form, then moving into FE. A realistic stepping stone but not a requirement.
A small number of providers recruit into trainee or assistant coach posts and train you up - less common than direct entry at full level, but worth looking for if you have little relevant experience.

What employers ask for

A degree is often welcomed but genuinely not always required - many adverts ask for Level 3 (A-level equivalent) plus relevant experience. If you have a degree you clear the academic bar comfortably; the subject rarely matters, though education, psychology, youth and community work, sociology and criminology are common backgrounds.
GCSE English and maths at grade 4/C or above is a near-universal requirement, because you may be supporting learners through their own English and maths resits and funding rules care about this. Some providers ask you to work towards Level 2 qualifications if you do not hold them.
An enhanced DBS check (Disclosure and Barring Service criminal record check) is standard, as you work with young people and vulnerable adults.
Demonstrable experience of supporting, mentoring, coaching or teaching people - this can come from volunteering, student ambassador work, youth work, sports coaching, peer mentoring or customer-facing roles with a welfare element.

Show 2 more

A driving licence and access to a car is required by many apprenticeship providers because you travel between employer sites; others are entirely campus-based or remote. Check each advert - this varies hugely.
Teaching or coaching qualifications (Level 3 Award in Education and Training, Level 3/5 Coaching and Mentoring, IAG - information, advice and guidance - qualifications) are sometimes required and sometimes funded by the employer once you start. Asking which applies is reasonable at interview.

Skills that matter

Holding people to account without losing the relationship

Your core task is telling someone their work is late or their attendance has slipped, repeatedly, while keeping them willing to talk to you next month.

Accurate, timely record-keeping

Funding for apprenticeships and FE programmes depends on evidenced reviews and progress records, and Ofsted inspections examine them - sloppy notes create real problems for the organisation.

Caseload and diary management

You juggle many learners at different stages with different deadlines, and the ones who go quiet are usually the ones who most need contacting.

Safeguarding awareness

You will often be the person a learner discloses something serious to, and you need to recognise it, respond calmly and pass it on through the correct channel rather than trying to fix it yourself.

Understanding of apprenticeship and FE funding rules

Things like off-the-job training requirements, break-in-learning rules and withdrawal dates shape what you can and cannot do for a learner, and you learn these on the job.

Working with employers as well as learners

On apprenticeship programmes you negotiate with busy line managers to release their staff for study time and to give evidence of workplace competence.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Settle into a full caseload and complete any required coaching, assessing or education qualifications - typically in the first year or two, often funded by the employer.
Move into a specialist or senior coach role: taking harder caseloads, mentoring new coaches, or specialising in a sector or in learners with additional needs.
Branch into an adjacent role - assessor, tutor or lecturer (often via the Level 3 Award in Education and Training, then a Level 5 Diploma or a PGCE/Cert Ed in post-compulsory education), quality assurance (IQA - internal quality assurer), or careers adviser.
Step up to team leader, curriculum coordinator or operations manager at a training provider, managing a team of coaches and being accountable for achievement and retention figures.
Longer term, head of department, quality manager or provider-level leadership. Timelines here vary very widely - some people move up in a few years at a fast-growing provider, others stay in delivery roles by choice because they prefer the learner contact.

What people get wrong

“It's a coaching job, so it's mostly motivational conversations and goal-setting.”

A substantial part of the week is administration - logging reviews, uploading evidence, updating trackers and producing data for managers - because funding and inspection depend on documented progress, not on how good the conversation felt.

“You need to be an expert in the subject your learners are studying.”

Progress Coaches usually cover progress, attendance, wellbeing and overall programme completion across several subject areas; a separate tutor, trainer or assessor handles the technical content. Some providers do combine the roles, so check the advert.

“It's a stepping stone to schoolteaching and therefore a soft version of it.”

Further education and training is its own sector with its own qualifications and culture, and the work is different - adult and 16-19 learners, employers, funding rules and a focus on retention rather than classroom delivery. Many people build a whole career in it.

“Your success is judged on how much learners like you.”

You are usually measured on retention and achievement - how many of your caseload stay on programme and pass - which sometimes means uncomfortable conversations and formal warnings rather than being everyone's favourite.

Where this varies

The job title covers quite different realities. In a further education college, a Progress Coach is often campus-based, attached to a curriculum area, and the work resembles personal tutoring for 16-19 students - heavy on attendance, pastoral support and English and maths resits. At an independent apprenticeship provider, you are more likely to be field-based, driving between employer sites, managing a caseload of working adults and negotiating with their line managers, with more focus on funding compliance and end-point assessment readiness. A third version exists in large employers who deliver their own apprenticeships in-house, where you support staff through their programme alongside their day job. Some providers also use 'Progress Coach' interchangeably with 'skills coach', 'development coach', 'learner coach' or 'personal tutor', and a few blend it with assessor duties so you also judge whether learners have met standards. Read adverts closely for whether a driving licence, teaching qualification or assessing qualification is expected.

See all 1 live Progress Coach jobsFrom employers' own careers sites, updated daily Tailor your CV for this roleFree with an account, 3 a month

General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.