Education and training... in detail

What does it involve?

For most jobs in this work area you need to be confident about standing in front of groups of people, whether they're small children, teenagers or adults. You also need to be able to communicate well so that people can easily understand you and may spend a lot of time on your feet.

If you're a teacher, your work doesn't finish at the end of the school day - you will need to mark work, prepare lesson plans and write reports. Early years education* is all about helping young children to develop in a social, physical and emotional way as well as teaching them new things. You need to be very patient and creative.

Other jobs within this work area include teaching English as a foreign language, training manager, university lecturer, classroom assistant and school lunchtime supervisor.

What's happening in the industry?

Education is a growth area due to the current government encouraging more people into teaching and developing the early years workforce. Some newly qualified teachers will get extra bonuses if they've studied to teach a shortage subject (subjects for which there aren't enough teachers) such as maths, sciences and languages.

At the moment approximately 30% of the workforce and men and 70% are women - there's a shortage of men in early years education*.

The way in which we teach is changing too - technology is taking over the classroom in some schools with laptops replacing text books, and some teachers have even delivered 'virtual' lessons through video conferencing, podcasting or through web-based modules.

*For childcare and nursery nursing go to the Social Work, Counselling and Childcare information

How to get into this type of work

Your Personal Adviser will be able to discuss your options with you.

School or college - study for GCSEs, AS / A levels, NVQs or other vocational qualifications that could lead to a job, an Apprenticeship, further qualifications or even a degree.

e2e (Entry to Employment) - if you’re not sure if you’re suited to this job you might be able to get some work experience through e2e. It can also give you extra support to gain the right qualifications, get onto a training programme or get a job.

Apprenticeship - train ‘on-the-job’ with a wage or allowance. For the latest Apprenticeship vacancies in Nottinghamshire go to Vacancies Online.

Work or work with training

Which skills?

Communication
Organisation and planning
Problem solving
Writing
Information handling
Team work
Information and communication technology (ICT)

What else can I do?

Get some work experience.
Brush up on some of your skills such as communication or organisation.
Read about education, training and childcare work on Jobs4U or look for the online EClips job descriptions in your school or nearest Connexions centre.
Talk to your Personal Adviser.

For courses go to MyChoiceNotts

For job and training vacancies go to Vacancies Online

For more job info go to Jobs4U

For useful links go to Fetch!