The current paper draws on data derived from a small-scale ongoing longitudinal study of further education trainee teachers. It examines their experiences during and after the completion of their training. The study was conducted at a university in the English Midlands and sets trainees' experiences within the socio-economic and policy context. This paper addresses the experiences of six respondents, exploring their trajectory into the sector, orientations towards pedagogic relations and enacted professionality. The paper concludes by suggesting that trainees' educational commitment to the tenets of social justice need to be accompanied by an expansive and politicised understanding of practice. (Contains 3 tables and 2 notes.)