With secondary school teachers in the key subjects of Welsh, science and maths being particularly in demand, there are more ways than ever to begin a journey into teaching.
This includes a salaried route, which enables trainee teachers to work at a school and qualify at the same time.
With a teacher’s salary currently starting at £32,400 and reaching up to £140,600 for a headteacher it’s a great time to be a teacher in Wales.
Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses are available at providers across Wales.
Four ways to get into teaching:
Salaried Route
This route is a two-year PGCE course taking place around duties within the school, with a paid salary. Costs are covered by a training grant from the Welsh Government.
At Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy in Llanrwst, six teachers are currently working at the school and training to be teachers at the same time.
As well as enabling the teachers themselves to take a change of career, the scheme is helping to solve recruitment issues.
Steffan, one of the PGCE students moved from London, where he was working in financial recruitment, back to Wales to be with his family and start his teaching career.
He said: “After researching my options, the salaried route was perfect for me. It allowed me to carry on earning a salary, gain valuable experience of working in a school, and ultimately become a teacher as well.
“I’m part of a fantastic community at the school and at the Open University. Whilst all the work is online you still feel like part of the University community. I communicate with people across all of Wales who do the course as well.”
Owain Gethin Davies, Headteacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy said:
“The salaried route scheme has enabled us to recruit the best teachers and build a workforce for the future, especially in key subjects such as Maths or Welsh. In a rural area teacher recruitment can be an issue.
“But thanks to this Welsh Government scheme we now are training a team of six student teachers, all with different skills and from varied backgrounds, who are now gaining valuable experience both teaching and in other elements of secondary school day-to-day work.”
Cabinet Secretary for Education Lynne Neagle said:
“Having so many routes into teaching is enabling us to recruit the workforce we need both now and, in the future, ensuring we support learners to reach their potential and continue to raise standards.
“I am determined to ensure we are doing everything we can to attract high quality teachers to the profession in Wales, especially in our secondary schools.
“It is heartening to see teachers joining our education workforce through the salaried route, enriching not only their own lives through a career in teaching but also contributing to an education system that Wales is proud of.”
For those not currently working in a school, it is still possible to apply for the salaried route, to teach one of the secondary shortage subjects.
Sponsorship from a secondary school is necessary for this route, but help is available from the Open University.
Full-time PGCE
The full-time postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) is available for primary and secondary level and takes one year to complete. An honours degree is needed.
It can be self-funded or student loan and part-time maintenance grants may be available to help with costs.
Part-time PGCE
The part time PGCE is available for primary and secondary level and takes two years to complete. An honours degree is needed.
It is an ideal way to study the PGCE around job or other commitments. It can be self-funded or student loan and part-time maintenance grants may be available to help with costs.
Full-time undergraduate degree course
A three-year course available for primary level.
Incentives
Incentives for postgraduate study are available up to £25,000, for those not on the salaried route.
