Employers' popular questions

Being a successful teacher requires a special attitude and capabilities. These are not necessarily the same as those of a successful employee in your organisation. For example, teachers have to enjoy working with young people and want to share their knowledge and skills.

The number of eligible people within an organisation will be very small. The individual needs to be a graduate with a degree that allows them to teach science, maths or information and communication technology (ICT). They will also be looking to change their career to one in teaching. We estimate that in an organisation with 1,000 employees, only one or two a year will make the transition to becoming a teacher.

There are no financial incentives for joining the programme. Equally there are no costs to the employer.

There are no direct costs for participating in the programme. All the promotional materials are provided free of charge.

We do request that you nominate someone to be our main point of contact.

Offering talented staff the opportunity to do something really valuable when they leave enhances an employer’s reputation. Engaging with key social issues such as the future supply of skilled scientists, mathematicians and engineering and technology professionals reinforces your corporate citizenship credentials.

Having former employees in the classroom allows organisations to develop or consolidate links with schools.

The Teaching Agency can work with companies to publicise their involvement through its extensive communication programmes.

In the long term, increasing the supply of skilled people in these areas will help with your recruitment activity.

Absolutely not. Teaching is a challenging job, which requires commitment, aptitude, application and a broad set of skills. It is extremely unlikely that an employee who leaves your organisation for disciplinary or capability reasons will achieve the requirements to re-train as a teacher.

There are many different routes into teaching. Different routes will suit different people – there is no ‘best’ route. Find out more about routes into teaching

We are looking for graduates who are interested in teaching maths, science or ICT in state secondary schools. Many will probably have a degree in the subject they want to teach, but others may have related degrees. They may be leaving your employment to seek a career change, to take early retirement, or as a result of restructuring.

Teachers start on a minimum of £21,588 (£27,000 in inner London). Schools have the flexibility to pay more in subjects that are difficult to recruit to (including maths, science or ICT) or for individuals with substantial life experience. However, this is a matter for negotiation between the individual and the school. An experienced classroom teacher can earn over £35k a year. Advanced skill teachers can earn over £55k a year whilst head teachers’ maximum earnings can rise to over £100k.

Register online for Transition to Teaching.
Call the Transition to Teaching helpline to register: 0845 6026 880