From Teaching to L&D - My Own Journey Through the Education Sector.
It all begins with an idea.
Hello,
I’m Elisha, I’ve been working in learning or education in some form for around a decade, with experience in L&D, formal teaching and some time in museum education! Almost every job I’ve ever had has been related to education in some way, even my first part time role at 16 was teaching children’s gymnastics classes. Education and learning are what I love and I’ve been so fortunate to be able to make such a varied career in something I feel so passionately about.
When I was studying towards my PGCE at Oxford many years ago, I didn’t even know that learning and development within business and organisations existed and I certainly didn’t expect to end up working in these roles just four years later. I went into teaching thinking that would be my career for life - what else would someone who loved education as much as me do?
Teaching in a formal setting turned out to not be quite the right fit in the end. Those who have experienced it know what an intense and challenging environment a secondary school can be and as much as I loved delivering lessons and working with my students, it was all of the other pressures that come along with teaching that convinced me to look elsewhere. At this point I felt professionally demoralised, and honestly a bit of a failure. The job I had worked so hard towards and I thought I would do for my entire working life had just turned out to be something I just could not continue in. Like so many others, I left teaching within five years of qualifying.
“32.5% of teachers leave the profession within 5 years. 11.3% leave after just one year.”
After leaving teaching I felt at a bit of a loss for what to do next. I wanted a job I cared about and that used my skills but that also allowed me some more professional and creative freedom and didn’t feel as though it was taking over my whole life. After many unsuccessful applications and interviews, I was fortunate enough to find myself a wonderful new role in the Ministry of Justice. My new team were amazing and I can’t credit them enough for building up my confidence and showing me that even though teaching didn’t work out how I had wanted, there was a whole different career path that I could excel in. Best of all it was still related to education - I was still helping people learn just in a whole new context.
Over time I have become passionate about a completely different type of learning. I now appreciate how far beyond the formal classroom our education can, and should, go. I believe that no one should be limited by the choices they make at 14, 16 or 18 and that learning is something we should have access to for life. Anyone who wants to further their education should have the opportunity to do so and this should never be dependent on age, income, location or any other factor. This is one of the reasons I am such an advocate for apprenticeships as a form of learning delivery.
I have seen first hand how education at all levels can shape and define people’s lives. It is this that makes me so proud to be an educator, no matter the setting.
I hope you will join me as I share more about my experiences in education.
Elisha