Managers swap boardroom for classroom

British managers are swapping the boardroom for the classroom by quitting top jobs in industry to retrain as teachers, according to new research published today.

Almost a third of new secondary school teachers had a senior post in their previous job in business, research for the UK's Teacher Training Agency (TTA) showed.

Bankers, accountants, pharmacists and sales executives were among those changing their career.

Almost one in four new maths teachers used to work in banking or accountancy, while one in six science teachers were trained scientists or pharmacists.

The survey of 571 newly qualified secondary school teachers showed most enjoyed the “intellectual challenge” of teaching.

Mike Watkins, Acting Director of Teacher Supply and Recruitment for the TTA said: “Many people are choosing teaching as a second career because it offers a whole range of new experiences compared with their previous profession.

“Classrooms are very creative places and interacting with young people on a daily basis means that the job is constantly stimulating and intellectually challenging.

“More than a third of people entering teacher training are over 30 years old, with many having worked in another field before becoming teachers.

"The knowledge and expertise these professionals have developed in their previous career is often extremely valuable to the teaching profession, especially those with a mathematics, science and modern languages background, subjects where we particularly require additional teachers.”

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the UK's National Union of Teachers, said: “New teachers coming from industry, commerce, or the professions can bring a new perspective and a wider experience into the classroom and are very welcome in the profession.

“But it is crucial that they do not come in with a rosy glow of what teaching is like.

“It is one of the most stressful occupations which bears little relationship to the public perception of short days and long holidays.

“Teachers work in excess of 54 hours a week, at least twice as long as their pupils are in the classroom.

“Children are not all little angels, particularly when they get to secondary school and adolescence is reached.

“But every teacher will point to seeing their children succeeding as the reason they stay in the profession and cope with the stress and the brickbats.”