An investigation by the National Education Union last year shed light on the high percentage of teachers turning their backs on the education industry.
With continued budget cuts, increased workload and mounting pressures from OFSTED inspectors and parents alike, it鈥檚 no wonder a whopping 32,375 new teachers have left the state school system in the last five years alone.
The study is based on responses from 86,000 school staff 鈥� more than a quarter of which (26%) admit they intend on leaving the sector in the next five years. But what career options lay ahead of those who might have spent 20+ years stood in front of a classroom of students?
Former education professionals come with a whole host of attributes required to run a profitable and successful business, something these individuals are quickly wising up to.
Edouard Wood鈥檚 experience in teaching has benefited his future entrepreneurial endeavours in more ways than one. Having now launched a franchise with children鈥檚 multi award-winning music education company, The Strings Club, he is able to draw from his 20 years鈥� experience as a violin teacher.
“I鈥檇 worked in a freelance capacity for a number of years before starting my own franchise last summer, so although I had a good idea of what it takes to work for yourself, the franchise model really suits my lifestyle. The level of support I get from my franchisor is invaluable,鈥� said Wood.
鈥淭here鈥檚 less of this 鈥榰s and them鈥� mentality that you come across so often in teaching. My business is growing steadily and I鈥檓 confident that the earning potential will far outweigh what I鈥檇 earned when I was teaching on my own.鈥�
Tutor Doctor franchisee, Roger Kennedy, worked as an English teacher for eight years at schools across London before starting his own business in 2017.
鈥淚 became disillusioned with certain elements of the role and the constantly changing policies,鈥� said Kennedy. 鈥淚t almost became that the evidence of achievements were favoured in place of genuine knowledge and interaction of your students.
鈥淭eachers want to make a difference and see students鈥� progress but it鈥檚 being taken away from them.鈥�
Aniruddh Gupta, CEO of UK-based nursery franchise, Kido School, has sourced a whole host of talent from the former teachers who have approached him regarding their franchise opportunity.
鈥淩unning a nursery can be incredibly complex. Having knowledge of those complexities and challenges as a former teacher means you can navigate them much more easily,鈥� said Gupta.
鈥淭eachers at Kido also appreciate the vastly different working environment and culture where they can still pursue their passion for early years education.鈥�
However, not all former teaching professionals are opting to continue in the education field when investing in their own business.
Nicola Whybrow, former school teacher from Oxfordshire, now operates a House of Colour franchise. She puts much of her success down to the skills picked up during her 12 years as a teacher and the lack of restrictions in her new career.
Whybrow explains: 鈥淭here are so many transferrable skills linked with teaching that are relevant to business management – communication, time-keeping, patience and resilience.
鈥淒espite leaving the education industry to start my own colour and image consultancy franchise in 2017, I find myself referring back to my teacher training regularly.
鈥淏ut when I was working as a teacher, my time was so stretched that I hardly had the time to realise I was using this skillset. Now, I have the time to advance my professional skills and build a credible and stable future for myself. It鈥檚 poles apart from my teaching career.
鈥淚 can work eight days in a month and bring home more money that I did working five day weeks as a teacher. I finally have the time for my family, the money for nice, long holidays and a quality of life I could have never imagined I would have.鈥�
The International Franchise Show on 3-4 April 2020 will host over 200 franchise opportunities at ExCeL London. You can register for free at .