Teaching and Education Apprenticeships

Teaching assistants can start off earning around £12,000, and can make up to £17,000 with experience - higher level teaching assistants will earn a bit more.

To qualify as a teacher, you'll first need at least five GCSEs at grade C or above, including ones in Maths and English. If you're teaching a particular subject, you'll need a degree in that along with a teaching qualification. All teachers need Initial Teacher Training (ITT), where you'll start getting experience with the age group and subject you want to teach. You can do this while you're getting a degree.

You don't need any qualifications to become a teaching assistant, but you will need experience working with the age group you’re hoping to help. Teaching assistant jobs are competitive though, so having a qualification or significant experience may help you stand out that little bit more.

Some entry level jobs in the teaching and education sector include:

• Play worker
• After school assistant
• Teaching assistant
• Nursery worker

People with all different kinds of personalities can be amazing teachers, but there are a few key skills you'll need. These include patience when dealing with difficult students, tact in dealing with tricky situations and an ability to build relationships easily. You'll also need loads of passion for what you do - this is how you'll get your class excited and engaged in what they're learning.

When working in education, in whatever sector or role, you will be in a position of responsibility and will be looked up to by those that you are teaching. For this reason, the skills required by teachers are similar across the board.

Skills typically required by teachers in all fields include:

• Patience
• Good organisation
• Communication
• Leadership
• Confidence
• Tact

Work experience is essential if you want to become a teacher, to gain practical experience as well as to ensure that this is the area you want to pursue as your career. Schools are often very open to volunteers coming in to shadow teachers or help out in the classroom, so see if you can do this at a local school. You may need to complete a CRB check to ensure that you can work with children before your placement begins.