Private sector high fliers considering switch into teaching
New research outlines how Britain's private sector heads are considering a move into teaching.
Statistics from the National College for School Leadership show that the move from private to public sector could be on the cards for nearly half of managers.
A fifth of those surveyed are aiming to go into school leadership, with schools in London in particular set to benefit with a third of the capital's private sector managers thinking about a role in education.
Research found that more than 60 per cent of managers like the idea of making a difference in the lives of children, while more than half feel they would like to have an positive impact on their local community and improve management skills.
Managers questioned believe they could bring organisation and people management skills to the education realm.
The chief executive of the National College Steve Munby said being a head teacher was not a soft option and potential candidates had to show the right skills, experience and understanding of education.
"There are already many talented leaders en route to headship but we need to bolster this number so it's encouraging to see a real appetite among senior managers and directors for a career in education," he said.
The news comes a day after the Training and Development Agency for Schools announced a new drive to get men to teach in primary schools.
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Comments
Whilst it's fantastic that the managers surveyed want to pass on their experiences, teaching doesn't have to be undertaken in a formal institution. They could continue to achieve both in terms of their own careers and through volunteering or mentoring, ensuring the vital skills they've learned over the years are passed on to the up and coming managers of tomorrow.
Does the CMI (or could the CMI) create some kind of mentoring / volunteering scheme where experienced managers and young managers (and I mean in terms of service as a manager not age)?
The networking events the CMI runs are great, but we could make a more formal structure for coaching / mentoring of new managers?
I switched from ca 30 years in business, primarily in the oil industry to education 2 years ago. I now manage higher education and careers and get huge amounts of job satisfaction helping mentor students in making informed decisions about their future.
It's not for everyone but I have no regrets, and I feel fortunate to have been able to experience at least two very different and highly rewarding careers.
We're looking into using the Ambassador members in a mentoring capacity. Watch this space.
I can imagine it must be a hugely rewarding career (teaching) but I don't think the two need to be mutually exclusive.
I went to nightschool to study Marketing with the CIM and one of my lecturers was a practising PR Manager with a local authority. One night a fortnight, he gave up his time to come and share his experiences with us whilst following a clear syllabus.
I'm not suggesting that the value of his input was any greater or poorer, just that you can do both in the right circumstances.
I actually think he had to do lecturing as part of his ongoing registration with a professional body (couldn't be 100% certain of this) and that a number of the lecturers were actually employed full-time as well as facilitating night classes.
I think the benefit is that there will be people out there with masses of experience to pass on but because they don't want a full-time occupation in teaching, whereas part-time or voluntary teaching / mentoring may be more suitable to their circumstances?
Teaching certainly makes sense for many high fliers who would simply like to settle down into a quiter (If you could call it quiet) lifestyle, and yet passing on knowledge and enthuse kids into working in business.
If they're not good enough to be working in the finance sector what makes anyone think they will be any good at teaching? Surely the training should have been spent teaching them how to be better bankers instead!