Are you currently employed in the UK Military? Have you started to think about what career path you might take when you leave? How does teaching and supporting adults and young people to achieve their dreams sound?

This page is aimed at military personnel, or those who have recently left the military, and are looking for additional training to enhance their civilian employment prospects. We can provide you with all of the training and skills that you need for a successful and rewarding career in teaching adults and young people.

Teaching can provide a fantastic and rewarding career for someone leaving the Armed Services, with opportunities to develop further existing skills and experience. Teaching can include tutoring in public or private Further Education, or training within a private business.

"I can't think of anything better than getting people who know all about self-discipline, teamwork and a sense of pride into our schools."

Michael Gove, Education Secretary

A bit of background

We believe that Armed Service leavers have the skills to be effective teachers and trainers, and have much to offer young people and adults as mentors - and the Government agrees!

The Schools White Paper 2010 (The Importance of Teaching) shows that the Coalition Government recognises the skills and attributes that members of the Armed Forces have, which would transfer to a career in teaching, particularly with young people from challenging backgrounds.

The 'Troops to Teachers' scheme has been running for years in the US, with massive success! 

"It will provide youths with role models who understand discipline and self-restraint at the time in their lives when they need it most. And it will be a terrific boost for our Armed Services."

Chief of Defence Staff Lord Guthrie, www.bbc.co.uk

Infantry Soldier to Training Centre Manager

Our Training Centre Manager, Anthony, started his military career at 16 years old. After 13 years in the army, Anthony joined a stage 2 pilot M.O.D scheme called Skill Force - a UK government pilot of the USA's 'troops to teachers' programme. Anthony was placed into secondary schools in Birmingham, with other ex military colleagues, to influence disruptive and disadvantaged students and to give them a second chance in education. 

The pilot proved to be a massive success - concrete evidence that ex Military personnel are perfectly trained and developed to transform unruly classroom environments and young people. As a result, Skill Force has become the leader in managing behaviour and raising achievement for disadvantaged young people within schools across the UK.

Anthony then went on to have a successful career in Further Education, achieving grade 1 for his Teaching & Learning strategies, and a well respected department manager of a large publicly funded college and well respected within private training across the country.

The first step

At this stage, you might not know what you want to teach, or have no experience of teaching or training. Don't worry, the Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning (PTLLS) award provides with a good solid grounding in teaching theory and practice, and will give you all the tools required to have a good, solid teaching career.

Technically, you could start teaching adults (often referred to as Lifelong Learning) in your specialist subject area. But your chances of standing out from the crowd will greatly increase with an accredited qualification - a PTLLS award will make sure that you're at the top of the list to secure the job! 

It is common fact that schools, colleges, and training providers prefer ex military personnel over non service qualified staff; this is because of their team ethic, flexibility, motivation, pride, and persistence in improving the life of others and to raise expectations. 

PTLLS can be completed online, so you don't have to attend any classroom based sessions - ideal if you're still in the Armed Forces. The beauty of online learning is that you can complete the course at your own pace, in your own time! Or you can come along to our training centre and participate in one of our 4-day classroom based courses.

Progressing within the sector

We offer a one stop shop to becoming a fully qualified Lifelong Learning teacher. Have a look at our frequently asked questions to find out where your teaching career could take you. 

Are you eligible for funding?

You can use your SLCs to assist in paying for your course, if you are completing it as ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD). We are also more than happy to talk to the resettlement staff at your RRCs and make the process as simple as possible to get you onto the right course with us.

Please contact us for further details of how we can help you.

We'll help you along the way

Contact us today to talk about the best route forward to achieving your teaching career aspirations. You can also let us know what you think about troops to teachers and the skills that you think our Armed Forces can bring to teaching.