Lecturer has staple treatment applied for the inexperienced (1-6)
I believe the answer is:
l-plates
'applied for the inexperienced' is the definition.
(inexperienced drivers have L-plates on their cars)
'lecturer has staple treatment' is the wordplay.
'lecturer' becomes 'l' (abbreviation for lecturer).
'has' says to put letters next to each other.
'treatment' indicates anagramming the letters (letters treated or processed differently).
'staple' with letters rearranged gives 'plates'.
'l'+'plates'='L-PLATES'
(Other definitions for l-plates that I've seen before include "Signs of a learner driver" , "Cutlery for learning to drive" , "Pallets compulsory for novice drivers" .)