The article deals with the theoretical foundations of teacher training for adult students in the UK. It has been found out that the system of adult education is based on the andragogical approach that reveals patterns, psychological and pedagogical factors of effective learning. In applying the andragogical approach to adult education the following factors contribute to the learning process improvement: considering the motivation of adult learning, defining educational interests and needs of each adult student, the choice made by andragogue of the learning strategies and techniques designed to increase the professional level of adult education, practical implementation of knowledge and experience acquired by adult students in training process, taking into account the individual characteristics of each participant in the learning process, the desire to cooperate with the teacher-andragogue. The theoretical basis of this process is the science of andragogics. It has been revealed that when working with an adult student, the following approaches are used: traditional didactic, problem-search, facilitating that are focused on the content and the learning process. Author determined specific approaches used in the UK for teaching adults, namely active, institutional, competence, synergy and others.