how you are employed. For example, you could be:
• full time (permanently employed, or on a termly or yearly contract)
• part time (permanently employed or on a temporary contract)
• freelance or peripatetic (working for several organisations and travelling to different locations)
• self-employed (working for yourself and invoicing for work done, without the benefits of being an employee, and possibly requiring business insurance)
• sessional or variable (hourly paid, or on a zero hours contract and just called in when needed)
• supply (providing temporary cover for absent staff via an agency)
• voluntary (unpaid)
• work based (training others in your place of work or their place of work).
The type of contract you are on will determine whether you have time during your working hours for administrative duties, preparation and marking. Not all teachers automatically have this time included. A teaching career requires dedication; you will need to be prepared to work hard and to commit your own time to the role, particularly if you are part time or sessional. Even though you might feel you will get a good hourly rate of pay, you have to take into account that this rate covers you for all the work you do which is outside of these hours. Most organisations now work throughout the year, therefore don’t expect to have long breaks like schools do.
When applying for a job, try and resist the temptation of taking whatever might be offered to you. Sadly, there are some organisations that are more focused upon reaching targets and obtaining funding, than the quality of the teaching and learning experience offered. This might not lead to a happy working environment, and you could feel pressured to do things you know are wrong. You could ask what the quality procedures are in the organisation. If there is a good system for supporting staff and ensuring a quality service, it should show the organisation is committed to learning, and not just focused on reaching targets. However, it’s always best if you can, to talk to people who currently work in the organisation to find out how it operates.
If you are attending a teacher training course at the moment, you could talk to your teacher and ask them if they know of any teaching opportunities, either now or that might occur in the future. You could even ask if you could sit in on a session which is being delivered in your specialist subject area. This will help you see what is involved, and you could make some useful contacts. You could offer to do some voluntary teaching or to support the current teacher in some way. This would give you some great experience which could help in the future.
Example
Fatima is working towards a teacher training qualification and needs to carry out a certain number of teaching practice hours with learners. She is working full time as an office manager and often carries out training activities with staff on a one-to-one basis. Her teacher has told her that some of this can be classed as teaching practice; however, she also needs to demonstrate she can work with groups. Fatima approached the local college, which said she can sit in on some sessions of the Office Administration course. Fatima hopes that she can then offer to deliver some sessions on a voluntary basis and use this towards her teaching practice. She also hopes to gain some valuable work experience and make some useful contacts at the college. Her aim is to teach evening classes part time in a college environment.
Websites advertising teaching and training jobs
There are many websites available which advertise teaching and training jobs. You might find it useful to look at some of the following and sign up for their job alerts. The following websites were live at the time of publication.
www.cv-library.co.uk/search/teaching-jobs
www.jobbydoo.co.uk/further-education-jobs
There might also be relevant forums on professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) which you might like to join.
Progression
When you are nearing completion of your teaching qualification, you will need to consider how you wish to progress further. You may find it useful to summarise your learning and create an action plan. This could be a list of your strengths and achievements so far, aspects you would like to develop or improve, and how you aim to work towards accomplishing them.
Other things you might like to consider include:
• applying for a professional teaching status if one exists in your country
• applying for a promotion
• attending relevant courses to update your skills and knowledge
• carrying out a work placement
• offering to mentor a colleague
• self-assessing your progress and development towards relevant teaching standards or codes of practice
• working towards a higher level teaching qualification.
If you are not currently teaching, you might like to consider how you can apply for a teaching position.
Professional teaching status
It might be possible for you to gain a professional teaching status which confirms your commitment to your role. This may differ depending upon your qualifications and experience. In England, it’s possible to apply for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status (QTLS) if you work in the FE and skills sector.
QTLS status is a voluntary process which demonstrates your commitment to being a professional teacher. It is gained by being a paid member of the professional association the Society for Education and Training (SET), which is part of the Education and Training Foundation (ETF). Gaining QTLS status gives parity with the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in schools, enabling you to teach in a school or an academy should you wish
