Teaching 'top choice' for second career

Thursday, 11 August 2005 12:00 AM

Teaching is becoming an increasingly popular second career for graduates, according to a new survey by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA).

The figures suggest increased incentives offered to those considering entering the profession, announced by schools minister Jacqui Smith earlier this year, are paying off.

Graduates training to be teachers from September next year, particularly those teaching maths and science, will be offered 'golden handshakes' of up to £5,000, on top of the bursaries of between £6,000 and £9,000 already available.

According to recent figures, applications to be a maths teacher are up by 30 per cent, while the number of people wanting to teach science is up 12 per cent from last year.

And today's poll suggests it is not just first jobbers looking to go into teaching - of the 69 per cent of 21- and 36-year-old graduates considering a second career, one in five are considering teaching.

This compares to just 14 per cent who are considering going into media, 11 per cent into IT and ten per cent into banking.

Among younger graduates, the trend towards a career change is more pronounced, with 40 per cent of 21- to 26-year-old's saying they expect to change after just five years.

"A change of career in your 30s or 40s is now common and teaching is one of the great beneficiaries of the trend," said TTA executive director Graham Holley.

"Today almost a third of newly qualified teachers are over 30 years old. This means our classrooms can draw on a far broader range of talent and experience."

Of those who decided to switch to teaching, 72 per cent said it was because they wanted to make a difference to people's lives, and 44 per cent said they wanted to work with children.

"We're delighted that teaching is so appealing to potential career changers. A recent study found that teaching was the number one choice for final year students and now we have found that it's also number one for career changers," Mr Holley added.

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