Footballer among professionals switching to teaching thanks to charity’s work

CHARITY Teach First wants hundreds of inspiring people to become teachers to help deprived kids realise their potential.

Its Time To Teach course assists mid- career professionals to switch to the profession to help to staff primary and secondary schools in low-income communities.

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Teach First is one of the UK’s biggest graduate recruiters, with 1,700 signed up for its programme for September 2019. But many more career changers are needed, especially to teach science or languages.

Applicants will need a minimum 2:1 degree and a C or above in GCSE maths and English.

Nathan D’Laryea, 33, is a former footballer who played for Man City, Macclesfield and Rochdale, and is now Assistant Head and Head of Maths at Loreto High School in Chorlton, Manchester.

He says: “I’ve coached football in Bermuda and Thailand and nothing beats the sense of fulfilment in working with young people who need your help the most.

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“After injury stopped my career, I completed my A levels, went to uni and signed up for the Teach First Leadership Development programme.

“People are usually surprised when they hear about my previous career, but the students are really interested and it allows me to form relationships with some pupils who do not engage with other teachers. There is no job out there as rewarding as teaching.”

For details see .

1,400 park roles

COMBINE work and play with a job at Thorpe Park. The theme park in Chertsey, Surrey, is hiring 1,400 staff for fun-packed jobs over the summer.

There are 400 vacancies ahead of the attraction opening on March 29 and another 1,000 from March to September.

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Roles include admissions, rides and entertainments alongside first-aid, warehouse and security jobs. Permanent and contract jobs are available and students wanting summer work are encouraged to apply.

HR director Emma Pattinson said staff receive good benefits, a great working environment and the chance to try to world-class rollercoasters.

Apply at thorpeparkjobs.com, or for more details email [email protected].

Blank holidays

FEELING shattered – and not just because it’s the morning after Valentine’s night?

Research reveals workers are exhausted because they are failing to take their full holiday allowance. Seventy-two per cent of staff do not take all the days they are entitled to, with an average of 7.5 days remaining.

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Norwich workers leave the most unused holiday at 8.8 days. JC Townend, CEO at HR consultancy Lee Hecht Harrison Penna, which carried out the research, said: “Companies give their staff holiday allowance for a reason – to take time away from the office to enjoy a break, relax and reboot.

“It’s important for workers to take all of their annual leave so they don’t risk burning out from exhaustion.”

On top of your game

BECOMING a professional games designer is a top career choice for kids, beaten only by being a vet.

So how to break into the industry? Here are tips from from Simon Spaull, MD at marketing firm AppLovin.

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1 – EDUCATE YOURSELF: Research online so you know the history of gaming, historical trends and which were the pioneering studios.

2 – LEARN TO CODE: Learn a programming language such as Scratch and use services such as tynker.com for tools and encouragement.

3 – GET INVOLVED WITH THE GAMING COMMUNITY: Developers are active on social media including Twitter, Reddit, and Discord. Many run “game jams” where people meet and design games with fellow aspiring creators. Sites including itchi.io and Ludum Dare provide online jams.

4 – HAVE A PORTFOLIO OF YOUR WORK: You don’t need to have a fully completed game to show off but have concept art, level design mock-ups, sound design work or even working demos.

5 – GET AN INTERNSHIP: Gamedevmap is a great resource for finding studios and publishers near you.

Site for sore eyes

OPTOMETRIST jobs are the hardest to fill, data from job site Indeed reveals.

More than two thirds of eye doctors’ roles stay vacant for at least 60 days.

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Software engineers, flight attendants and solicitors jobs also take much longer to recruit for than average.

Bill Richards, MD of Indeed, said: “With a higher proportion of the population in work than ever, the pool of jobseekers is a shallow one.

“When demand from employers outpaces the supply of workers, it can take a long time to fill vacancies.”