Industry insights - Education
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
The education sector can be divided into three main areas:
Education also takes place in non-school settings, such as hospitals and prisons.
Teaching is the main area of work. There are also teaching-related roles such as teaching assistants in schools and educational psychologists, as well as positions in areas such as policy making, administration and technical support.
The primary and secondary education systems in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are similar in their administration. Scotland has a completely separate system, with its own rules and practices.
There is a fairly constant demand for graduates in teaching, although there may be shortages in certain subject areas, such as science and mathematics, and the availability of posts varies between the regions/nations of the UK. There is currently more competition for positions in primary schools than in secondary education.
People who work in education include those who have direct teaching roles and those involved in various kinds of administration and support.
Teaching posts are available in:
Teachers also work as private tutors on a one-to-one basis.
Administration and support roles are many and various, particularly now that educational institutions are making their facilities available for conferences and other activities. There are posts in:
For those who are not attached to a specific institution, there are roles in:
The education sector is a challenging, rewarding and inspiring area in which to work. Many educators enjoy their work because of the great satisfaction that comes from imparting knowledge about a subject they are passionate about, and helping students learn and develop. Teaching is not easy though - there will always be difficult students, and class control may be challenging. Salaries in education, including teaching, are comparable to those of other graduate jobs in the public sector and related professions.
Have a look at the teaching and education sector, the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) and specific job roles for details of pay scales and training.
Working hours in education are generally Monday to Friday and usually between 8am and 6pm, although not all of that time is spent in the classroom or lecture theatre. For school teachers, after-hours clubs and staff meetings involve work into the evenings, and FE lecturers usually teach at least one evening a week. Teachers are entitled to 13 weeks’ holiday a year, and lecturers in FE and HE usually have at least 35 days’ annual leave plus public holidays. Although the holidays appear generous, teaching in the education sector involves preparation time and work out of hours to complete administration and marking. University lecturers are expected to pursue research and scholarship outside teaching hours and in vacations. This means that working hours in education can be long and hard, especially at the beginning of your career, but they can also be flexible and there are opportunities for part-time work and job-share.
Administration and other support staff in educational institutions usually have the same working hours as similar roles in other sectors, though some overtime may be required at busy periods. Part-time hours and flexible working are often available.
In January 2009, there were over 440,000 teachers in almost 25,000 schools in England, and 57,000 teachers in almost 2,900 schools in Scotland.
In the UK in 2008, there were over 220,000 teaching staff in FE colleges and 175,000 academic staff in 169 HE institutions.
All these institutions also need administrative staff and are supported by staff in other educational bodies whose functions cover areas such as quality control and examinations.
There are opportunities in all areas of education and education support throughout the UK. If you want to work abroad, there are openings worldwide for English language teachers (ELT), teaching in English-speaking countries and institutions and volunteering.
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
The following profiles are examples of key jobs that exist in the education sector. To find the job roles that best match your skills and interests login to what jobs would suit me?
For even more career ideas, take a look at types of jobs.
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
Jobs in education are usually well advertised and there is no real hidden job market.
The main national sources for general vacancies are:
Vacancies in schools and FE colleges are also advertised in the local press and by local authorities (LAs). See the Directory of Local Councils for links.
For university vacancies, see also:
Jobs are advertised all year round, but schools and colleges aim to appoint teaching staff at the beginning of the academic year, so the best time to look for vacancies is April to August.
Find out more about job application advice.
To teach in a state school in England and Wales or to gain a place on a postgraduate teacher training course, you must have a degree and there are additional specific educational requirements. (Requirements for Scotland and Northern Ireland are similar.) Experience of working with children, good communication skills, planning skills, professionalism and organisational skills are essential. It is important to have enthusiasm for learners and for your subject. Full details of entry requirements are available from teaching and education and the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
For FE lecturing, a degree is not essential (although most new staff have one), but you must have relevant experience and produce evidence of teaching skills.
For HE lecturing, a postgraduate degree is usually essential and a PhD is increasingly required, together with relevant experience for vocational/professional courses.
Requirements for non-teaching/lecturing posts vary widely but are broadly in line with those for similar jobs in other sectors. It may be useful to have experience of working with students or children, as appropriate to the post, as well as experience in your specific field of work.
Work experience, either voluntary or paid, is crucial for teaching posts in schools, and the more experience you have, the better. Work experience in schools is ideal, and opportunities range from a week's work-shadowing to working as a teaching assistant. Government schemes give access to classroom experience. Details are available from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). Working in summer camps or helping to run sports activities for children also provides beneficial experience. Try to get experience of different age groups to help you decide which age group you want to work with.
Work experience that shows you have the qualities and skills required for teaching is also very desirable for FE and HE lecturing, as well as professional experience for particular subjects, and research skills and experience for university posts.
For graduates, the normal route into teaching in schools is a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), unless you have a BEd or BA that is recognised as an initial teacher training course. There are also school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) schemes and graduate or registered teacher programmes (GTP and RTP) for staff employed by schools as unqualified teachers. Scotland and Northern Ireland have slightly different training systems. Details are available from:
It is now mandatory in England and Wales for FE lecturers to gain Qualified Teacher Learning & Skills (QTLS) status through full-time or part-time in-service study. There is a similar requirement in Scotland.
For HE lecturers, a relevant postgraduate degree is essential. Training in teaching is not usually required before entry, although many HEIs provide in-service training, which is often compulsory.
For non-teaching posts, postgraduate qualifications and/or professional training may be essential or advantageous, depending on the role.
Teachers and lecturers are encouraged and often obliged to take part in continuing professional development (CPD).
Teachers may progress into specialist curriculum or pastoral roles, such as coordinating subject or special needs provision, or into leadership roles with management responsibility, such as head of department, head of year, deputy head or head teacher.
Outside the classroom, there are managerial positions in local education authorities, educational consultancy and The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted), quality inspections.
Similar opportunities for progression exist in FE and HE, including promotion to senior lecturer or professor, and leadership and management roles, as well as subject specialisation and research.
In non-teaching roles, progression generally follows a similar pattern to that in other sectors.
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
SMEs are organisations with fewer than 250 employees and are less prevalent in education than in other sectors.
There are not many opportunities for self-employment in the education sector, but they do exist. You will need good networking skills and a good marketing strategy when you first start out. The main opportunities for self-employment are for private tutors. There are also opportunities for freelance work for extra income as an examiner marking papers for examination boards. You need recent and relevant experience as a teacher.
It is possible to set up your own training company and offer training courses in companies or institutions. This is particularly common in the IT industry and for equal opportunities/human resources issues. There are also some opportunities to work on projects in schools for artists, writers and performers.
Find out more about self-employment.
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
Opportunities for graduates in education overseas fall into three main categories:
Prospects for TEFL posts are good because the worldwide demand for learning English as a global language is strong for economic and commercial reasons. TEFL is probably the most common type of work overseas taken up by recent UK graduates and is usually short-term for a year or two. A TEFL qualification is desirable but not always essential. The main skills needed are the ability to communicate and to teach small groups in English, so knowledge of the local language is not essential. For more information on TEFL, including training, see English as a foreign language teacher and i-to-i TEFL.
There are also many opportunities for qualified and experienced UK teachers to teach abroad in countries and individual schools where English is spoken.
Opportunities for voluntary work for recent graduates are normally short-term and volunteers may have to pay for living expenses as well as travel. There are also good opportunities for experienced professionals, including teachers, for medium-term voluntary work with organisations such as Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) .
Prospects for non-teaching posts in education overseas vary widely depending upon the kind of work, the qualifications, experience and language skills needed, and migration/visa restrictions.
A UK degree is widely recognised in both English and non-English speaking countries.
For TEFL posts, the most widely recognised qualifications are those awarded by Cambridge ESOL and Trinity College. For short term posts, a short course at certificate level will usually be sufficient, but a diploma or postgraduate course and previous experience may be required for longer-term posts.
For teaching posts in other subjects in English-speaking countries and international schools, full qualified teacher status and post-qualification experience in the UK will normally be required.
For TEFL work, there are opportunities world-wide with high demand currently in China, Japan, the Middle East, South America, parts of Eastern Europe, and Spain, Italy and Germany. Employers include commercial language schools, mainstream schools and colleges, and industry.
For teaching posts in English and other subjects, opportunities occur in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other commonwealth nations. In many countries where English is not the main language there are schools for ‘ex-pat’ English-speaking communities, or international schools, colleges and universities, that teach in English.
Openings for voluntary work exist in a wide range of countries, including North America and Australia, where you can work with children in summer camps, providing pastoral care and leading sports activities. In developing countries, there are opportunities in informal teaching, community and welfare roles. For longer-term voluntary work you will usually need professional training and experience.
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
The work of the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is now spread between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
The DCSF co-ordinates all work on policy for children, young people and families, with a priority given to increasing support roles in schools and increasing access to childcare places and provision for early years.
BIS is responsible for increasing the level of skills in the workforce, including basic skills of literacy and literacy, as well as the high-level skills related to graduates. The department is responsible for the development, funding and performance of further education (FE) and for higher education (HE) in both research and teaching. A priority area is funding for science and technology. Following the Leitch Review of Skills in December 2006, on the long-term skills requirements for the UK, there has been an increase in education and training provided by further and adult education, but future development is unclear given constraints upon public expenditure.
A hot topic in schools in England is the issue of the assessment of children’s progress in the key national curriculum subjects, English, maths and science, at ages 7, 11 and 14 years, and the use of standard attainment tests (SATs). Many teachers complain that the focus on assessment and testing leads to ‘teaching to the test’, reduces time for other subjects, causes too much stress for pupils and teachers, and results in unfair league tables of school performance.
Other recent developments include a review of the primary curriculum and an increase in the number of children studying for vocational rather than academic qualifications, with the introduction of vocational diplomas for the 14-19 age group as an alternative to A-level/GCSE. The compulsory age for participating in learning, either by full-time education or by part-time training for workers, will be raised to 17 from 2013.
The decline in the numbers of children and young people attending and leaving school, after a peak in the age cohort 18-20 years in 2010/11, is expected to impact upon schools, FE and HE. In response to the economic recession following the credit crunch in November 2008, there has been an increase in the numbers of young people staying on at school, entering FE or applying to HE in order to avoid unemployment. There may be further major changes in education in the next few years because of the effect of the economic recession and widely anticipated reductions in public expenditure, as well as any change in government following a general election no later than June 2010. The current system of funding for HE, including tuition fees, will be reviewed after summer 2010 and may allow universities to increase fees substantially.
If you love children and want to inspire young minds, become a Montessori teacher.
Montessori is the world’s largest education movement with 600+ UK Montessori schools and 22,000 worldwide. Study the Early Childhood course part time at Montessori Centre International. Home study also available.
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