With redundancies in the UK rising, Transition to Teach has been working with employers in England that have staff at risk of redundancy. The service works closely with organisations to support exiting employees to successfully transition into a teaching career.

“People will understandably panic when they hear the word ‘redundancy’ but, for many, it can provide an opportunity to reassess their career and aspirations,” said employer engagement manager at Transition to Teach Jo Holland. “Some staff experience redundancy rounds every year, sometimes multiple times each year. They may become worn down by facing the continuous threat of redundancy and decide to take the plunge with a new career. The coronavirus pandemic is also causing people from all sectors to re-evaluate their careers, not just those at risk of redundancy.”

Once companies have an active redundancy situation, Transition to Teach offer support in a variety of ways says Jo:

“The first step is usually to set up a meeting, find out timescales, share our employer pack and find out how the company wants us to support them. In many cases the company will take this information and disseminate it to staff, but others will ask for more support. For example, we recently provided a private webinar for a client in the energy sector and we also support army resettlement on an ongoing basis.

“Some of the biggest worries employees have about transitioning to teaching include the financial side, managing a classroom and going back to learning. That’s what we’re here for. We can guide them to information about bursaries, and we offer that encouragement and practical support with applying to a teaching course. People also think they need a degree in what they want to teach, this isn’t always the case as a degree in an unrelated subject can suffice, especially if they have workplace experience in a particular subject.”

Transition to Teach is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by Cognition Education to offer two years’ worth of support to career changers as they train to teach. Susanne Patel is a career changer supported by Transition to Teach, who previously worked within the chemical industry:

“My previous role focused on understanding particulate systems. I worked with a range of companies, from water treatment to personal care and pharmaceuticals to understand the physical properties of their materials.

“Thanks to my previous role, I have excellent people skills; I can listen and communicate clearly with others. Time management is another key skill I learned in my previous role and knowing how to plan my time has really helped during my teacher training year. I am now training to teach science with a chemistry specialism via the school-centred initial teacher training route, which means that most of my training is delivered directly in the classroom.

“It’s amazing to have a solid team surrounding me while I train, they give me the confidence to keep going. Transition to Teach are a vital part of that support network, along with my training provider and fellow students.”

For more information, visit https://www.transitiontoteach.co.uk/

Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News