Tories try to encourage ex-City workers to teach
THE Conservatives yesterday announced plans to encourage former City workers to become teachers by letting them qualify without going on a retraining course.
Tory leader David Cameron also said he would raise educational standards by making teaching a “brazenly elitist” profession with higher qualification requirements.
Outlining his education manifesto alongside shadow schools secretary Michael Gove, Cameron said that a Tory government would only fund teacher training places for students with a first class or upper second (2:1) degree.
The Tory leader also pledged to set up a new scheme called Teach Now that would allow City workers in industries like law and banking to become teachers with minimal retraining.
“We’re going to… give high-flying professionals a fast-track into teaching,” Cameron told an audience at Walworth Academy, a school that is run by Ark, the children’s charity chaired by former Man Group boss Stanley Fink.
He added: “[The Teach Now programme] will be a one-stop-shop for people who want to transfer into teaching. After a rigorous application process, if you’ve made the grade, you’ll be put straight into a school.”