Train to Teach fair reflects recruitment boom in the classroom
Mar 10 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Post
People are increasingly turning to the teaching profession in a bid to beat the economic crisis.
Nearly 2,000 graduates and jobless people flocked to Birmingham for the two-day Train to Teach recruitment fair held at the Thinktank science museum at Millennium Point, Digbeth.
The figures were a massive 40 per cent up on last year’s attendance as people increasingly see the public sector, including teaching, as a safe haven amidst the thousands of redundancies caused by the recession.
Melanie Purkiss, spokesman for the Training and Development Agency for Schools which organised the Friday and Saturday event, said: “This level of response is fantastic for the teaching profession and really enforces the message that teaching is a rewarding profession.
“The recession is getting people to re-evaluate their priorities, such as job security as well as good pay and a good pension. But it is also about making a difference to young people’s lives.”
Some 1,743 people passed through the doors of Thinktank over the two days of Train to Teach.
It follows an increase in teacher training enquiries of 18 per cent in Birmingham during the last six months, and a ten per cent rise in applications for teacher training.
The TDA says this reinforces the biggest recruitment boom in teaching for years with one in ten workers considering a career in the classroom.
Former sales manager Mark Wilkinson, aged 40, was at Thinktank to pass on advice and information to prospective colleagues.
Mr Wilkinson, who teaches at Hallfield independent prep school in Edgbaston, said: “I was a sales manager with a building services company in Washwood Heath, having previously worked in sales in the IT and chemical sectors.
“I just felt that at 34, 35, I had reached the point where my career wasn’t going in the direction I wanted it to. I tried to progress in a higher management role but they are not that easy to come by.
“My wife was a teacher and it just seemed like a good career change.
“It has given me much more value in my life.”
A newly qualified teacher can earn a minimum of £20,627, depending on previous experience, while other benefits include top up payments for taking on additional responsibilities, the opportunity to join the second largest public sector pension scheme in the country and longer holidays.
