Professionalism is an important issue for policymakers in post-16 education because of its established links to competence, morale and staff continuity. Arguably, it is the pursuit of professionalism that ensures high quality teaching and learning, satisfied students and stakeholders, and the ongoing esteem of the general public. However, despite its alleged importance, professionalism has been largely missing as a topic from policy narratives. This lacuna may be linked to common perceptions that professionalism is complex, opaque and difficult to operationalise. Redressing this issue, this article examines what professionalism means to practitioners who work in the English Further Education (FE) sector. 461 practitioners working in teaching, management and curriculum settings completed an online survey, responding to the question: 'What does being professional mean to you in the context of your working role and duties'? Perceptions of professionalism were content analysed and reported thematically. Using two-way correspondence analysis, the results were theorised as a tripartite model comprising three intersecting professionalism schemas: expertise, service and compliance. This model provides the basis for understanding and exploring the contested properties of professionalism expressed across the FE literature. Uniquely, the model emphasises the role that recognition plays in respondents' constructions. The article concludes by suggesting a number of ways professionalism in FE might be supported.