EDUCATION

The Education sector includes three levels of education: primary, secondary and further / higher education. The key employers in the sector are universities, schools, colleges and independent training organisations. Activities in this sector include both teaching (teachers, tutors and professors) and other roles such as researchers, administrators and career advisors.

Source: New Economy Manchester's Policy & Research Team

Key Statistics

Distribution of Employees in Education

working within Greater Manchester, 2007

Employment Concentrations

based on numbers working in Education in Greater Manchester, 2007

Large or significant Education employers in Greater Manchester include:

Bolton Community College Training Services - Further Education

Bury Grammar School - School - Independent

Cedar Mount High School - School

Salford City College - College

Hopwood Hall College - College

Manchester University - University

Stockport College - College

Tameside College - College

The Oldham College (TOC) - College

Wigan & Leigh College - College

Source: Business Support Solutions, 2008

Employment Concentrations

based on numbers working in Education in Greater Manchester, 2007

Forecast employment changes in Education

in Greater Manchester, 2008-2013

Occupations include:

Career advisors and vocational guidance specialists

Driving instructors

Education assistants

Educational officers and school inspectors

Further education teaching professionals

Higher education teaching professionals

Physicists, geologists and meteorologists

Primary and nursery education teaching professionals

Researchers

School mid-day assistants

School secretaries

Science and engineering technicians

Secondary education teaching professionals

Special needs education teaching professionals

Vocational and industrial trainers and instructors

Case Studies 

My role as a Learning Support Co-ordinator involves helping special needs students with activities like swimming, walking and going to the shops. As well as this, I work with a teaching assistant in the classroom teaching subjects like writing and maths. I also have to organise staff rotas to make sure there are enough people to cover all the activities.

A typical day for me would involve working with different classes on different activities. The role is really varied and depending on how confident the students are and how they react to each activity, every day can be different.

I get a lot of job satisfaction from seeing each student develop and gain in confidence. No two students are the same and it is important to take the time to assess each child’s needs according to their specific difficulties and abilities. You definitely need to have a sense of humour and a lot of patience in this role but the reward of knowing you are helping the children improve and develop makes it all worth it.

Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in working with children. After leaving school at 16, I decided to go to university so that I could fulfil my ambition of working with children by becoming a teacher.

I think that one of the most important things about being a teacher is enthusiasm - if you can’t be motivated yourself you’ll have no chance of motivating your students in class. I find the classroom environment really exciting and love knowing that I am instrumental in the learning process of the students I teach.

At the moment I am teaching primary age children which is really satisfying because they are at an age where they have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for learning. I find the job really rewarding as I feel I am making a real difference. I wouldn’t swap jobs with anyone!

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