The upsurge in interest could be as a result the economic downturn, which has affected the banking and finance sectors the most. The number of people inquiring about becoming a teacher since the credit crunch began has now risen by nearly 45 per cent, according to the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
This is great news for the teaching profession who particularly need more maths and science teachers. In turn, career changers from the City, who tend to have science or maths backgrounds and are now looking for secure, fulfilling and family-friendly jobs, have also benefited.
Graham Holley, chief executive of the TDA, said: "We have witnessed an unprecedented surge in enquiries about teaching to our website since the beginning of the credit crunch. This demonstrates a fast-growing appetite for the rewarding career of teaching. In these uncertain times, teaching is a fulfilling and challenging career as well as a stable one.
"It offers a unique mix of rewards, and enables career changers to use talents honed in their current job – from communication and leadership skills to team management. This surge of enquiries ensures that we can continue to draw from candidates who can provide a high quality education for children in the future.
"If it's a new and exciting challenge you're looking for, coupled with great opportunities for progression and job security, teaching could be the answer."
Geoff Haynes, 40, left his City job in 2006 as a financial director for a career in the classroom. After working for 20 years for banks and stockbrokers, he is now a maths teacher at Thomas Deacon Academy, Peterborough, where his children are also taught.
Although the career change has meant a 40 per cent cut in pay, Geoff said: "Making the move from the boardroom to the classroom has been one of the best things I've ever done. It's a real challenge, but bringing a subject like maths to life is much easier when you've got a practical background in it. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a more secure career, or looking for a chance to pass on their knowledge to the next generation."
Geoff, who became interested in teaching after joining his children's school's board of governors, said: "I'd become disenchanted with the culture in the financial services and had been looking for another direction. Teaching has made me feel more fulfilled. I take great pleasure from seeing the moment when children understand a new skill. It might be something simple like long division. When they understand it, it's like lights going on all around the room. There's a real sense of achievement."
Kevin Watson, 45, also made the move from the City to the classroom. A physics teacher and head of year at Watford Grammar School for Boys, he was made redundant from investment bank Bear Stearns in 2003.
He said: "Anyone with a banking background is gold dust to the teaching profession. They are well educated, have good people and communication skills and usually have excellent ICT and maths skills that are in short supply. The money I made in corporate finance was great but I was leaving the house very early at 6.45am and getting back late at 9.30pm, so I never saw my three young children. I now spend more time with my family, get to do a job I enjoy immensely and teach a subject I love."
While experienced classroom teachers can earn between £35,000 and £45,000 and can go up to £61,000, the salary for a new teacher starts from £20,627 going up to £25,000 in inner London, which Kevin admits he found difficult at first.
"The first couple of years in teaching were pretty tough for me as I was starting at the bottom," Kevin continued, "but as my confidence and experience grew I started to really enjoy it. Now I get a huge amount of satisfaction from teaching. It's great finding fresh ways to explain physics to a class of boys. In the classroom you have to be a bit of an extrovert and to try to engage the pupils' interest and to inspire them."
Kevin, who majored in physics at Cambridge as part of a natural sciences degree, got into teaching by making inquiries at the local comprehensive.
"I contacted the maths teacher and asked to come into the school and shadow the teachers for a week. By the end of the week they'd roped me into teaching and they soon found me a place on the 12-month Graduate Training Programme, which means you learn on the job while getting a salary."
Six years after making the career change to teaching, Kevin has no regrets. "We've had to adjust our lifestyle but I'm more than willing to trade that for doing a job I enjoy immensely and spending more time with my family."
The TDA, whose principle aim is to secure an effective school workforce that improves children's life chances, hopes to attract more high quality candidates such as Kevin and Geoff into teaching. Over the next two years the TDA has to recruit 6,600 science teachers and 5,320 new maths teachers into the profession.
Graduates with skills in priority subjects such as science and maths may be eligible for tax-free bursaries of up to £9,000 while training, as well as a golden hello bonus package of up to £5,000 after passing induction as a teacher. For more information
•If you want to some advice about a career in teaching post a question to Graham Holley, the CEO of the TDA, in our forums or contact the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991.
This article was sponsored by the TDA
