Education and Childcare - Stockport JobsMatch

If you are enthusiastic, patient and creative with great communication skills, a career in the Education and Childcare sector may be for you.

The sector is the foundation of our society and plays a key role in influencing the future workforce of the UK. Whether you’re teaching the fundamentals of algebra to secondary school students, engaging in sensory activities with 3-year-olds or helping adult learners develop their digital skills, communicating effectively in a learning environment equips people of all ages with skills for life.

In addition to over 100 primary schools, 34 secondary schools and 5 colleges, Stockport has a range of early years childcare providers and private nurseries, independent training providers and skills centres, careers guidance and employment support partners where you can find work in the education field. This could be based in your own office working as a school guidance officer, visiting and evaluating schools on a day-to-day basis as an Ofsted inspector or delivering on-site training to apprentices at their workplace.

Featured Stockport Employer

Hear from Eve – an ESOL Teacher at Oldham College – sharing her career story about working in the Education sector. Eve initially studied her teacher training qualifications in the evenings, whilst working in another sector, until she discovered how much she enjoyed it and then gained her TESOL and PGCE qualifications. She loves working with adult students from different cultures and backgrounds and helping them progress with their own ambitions.

Watch Eve’s video to find out what it takes to get started in the education sector, what a typical day involves, the key skills required to succeed and what the best bits about the job are.

Labour Market Information

During the Covid-19 pandemic, schools, colleges, universities and educators across the country needed to quickly adapt to new technologies and ways of working to limit the disruption to learning and assessments across all ages. Academics and training providers came together, alongside local councils and private businesses, to introduce innovative solutions – such as virtual classrooms, e-learning and digital lending libraries.

Despite such major changes to the sector, a career in education and childcare remains a solid, steady choice with plenty of options for progression and continued professional development. An incredible broad-reaching industry, teaching isn’t the only career on offer and a job in the education sector can range from educational psychologist through to sports coaching or even publishing. Other common routes from a start in education could be to branch out into research, counselling or social work for example.

Starting Salary

£11.44 per hour or £18,000
per annum

Typical Salary Range

£22,000 – £64,000+
per annum

Working Hours

35 to 37 hours per week,
term-time only for teaching role

LMI Infographic from GMACS

GMACS have produced a range of helpful infographics to summarise careers in the Education sector and the current employment landscape in Greater Manchester. According to the stats, the most in-demand roles are as a Primary School Teacher, Early Years Teaching Assistant or a Secondary School Teacher in Maths, Science or Foreign Languages and you may find yourself working for one of the region’s 596 nurseries, 707 primaries, 274 secondaries or 20 colleges and sixth forms!

You can view the full infographic and click on the links for more information by selecting the button below to view as a PDF.

View PDF

Working in Education and Childcare

Career advisor
Early years teacher
Educational psychologist
Learning mentor
Primary school teacher
Secondary school teacher
Special educational needs teacher
Teaching assistant
Social worker
Youth worker
Play therapist

Excellent communication skills
Enthusiasm
Patient nature
Ability to adapt and deal with issues swiftly
Good organisation and time management skills
Imaginative and creative
Sensitivity and understanding
IT skills
Flexibility and willingness to learn
Teamworking

You can start a career in education and childcare through a college course – choosing A-Levels in related subjects, a T-Level in Education & Childcare or other Level 3 Qualifications like a Diploma in Childcare. You could also choose to start an Apprenticeship from Levels 1 to 3 after you’ve finished secondary school. For all of these routes, you’ll usually need 5 GCSEs at Grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and Maths.

After finishing college or completing an apprenticeship, you could then apply directly to work in a school, college or training company, or choose to develop your qualifications further by heading offer to University or completing a degree apprenticeship. Some routes into the education sector (such as counselling or sports coaching) may require specific qualifications or vocational courses, others may be more flexible and work experience or volunteering can be a big advantage.

If you’d prefer to focus more on training and development, you may also need qualifications accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) to improve your career prospects or be offered this type of course once you’ve found employment.

The progression opportunities in the education and childcare sector are incredibly broad, whether you decide to get your degree and then complete a masters to teach universities or work your way up the ranks at a nursery and decide to open up your own – the choices are endless!