Why not be a teacher?

A coffee and a chat could lead to a career changing moment in Jersey this week.

Graduates interested in training locally to become secondary school teachers should head for Highlands College Restaurant on Tuesday evening at 6pm.

Since the training programme began in 2005, 33 graduates have completed the one-year course and most are now teaching in a range of local secondary schools.

At the meeting there will be an opportunity to meet previous teacher graduates and current mentors. The scheme was set up to cater for Jersey residents who are interested in the profession, but who would find it difficult to attend a UK university to retrain.

Potential teachers for all subjects are considered, although priority is given to key areas of the curriculum such as maths, English and science where recruiting residentially qualified teachers is more difficult.

Lee Bell completed the course last year and is now working as a music and ICT teacher at Les Quennevais School. He made the move after a 13-year career in banking.

Applications are being accepted now for the next intake, which will start in September.