How to become an adult education teacher
Official title: Adult education teacher
Also called: Literacy and numeracy tutor, Foundation skills tutor, Adult literacy tutor, Adult community educator, Literacy, Numeracy and digital skills tutor
Adult education teachers teach literacy and numeracy to adults and young people who have left secondary school without qualifications.
Main tasks
- Teach foundational subjects to adult students
- Encourage and help adult students to succeed
- Set learning objectives
- Track student progress
- Change teaching methods to fit student needs
- Apply multiple teaching methods
- Set and mark classwork and homework
- Plan educational activities
How to become one
You usually need a qualification to become an adult education teacher and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Level 5) or similar; experience in similar work.
Ways in
- Certificates and diplomas: Intermediate certificates in other teacher education. TEC links this job to study in teaching. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Education Support, NZ Cert in Assessment Practice, Cert in Supporting Diverse Learning Needs. Usually 4 months. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $37,000 a year one year after study and $45,000 five years after; 60% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $67,883 to $84,635 a year (median $72,509), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $58,257 a year · Upper: $96,761 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 290 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Māori medium teacher
- Kaupapa Māori researcher
- Religious education director
- Resource teacher
- Instructional coordinator
- Resident adviser
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
How do I become an adult education teacher?
You usually need a qualification to become an adult education teacher and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Level 5) or similar; experience in similar work.
How much does an adult education teacher earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $72,509 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $67,883 to $84,635 a year.
Has the number of people working as an adult education teacher grown in New Zealand?
It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026