A FORMER travel agent is teaching and inspiring pupils at a school in Wirral after completing a new teaching programme.

Nour Ben Slama, a former business travel consultant working in the travel industry, is now working at Birkenhead High School after successfully completing a government funded teaching programme.

The Department for Education (DfE) funded Transition to Teach programme, delivered by Cognition Education, reached its successful conclusion in August 2023, after recruiting and mentoring 338 teachers through initial teacher training, qualified teacher status and early employment.  

The Transition to Teach programme was set up to support eligible career changers into teaching, including those who had taken early retirement or had been made redundant.  

Nour told the Globe: “I worked in the travel industry with companies including American Airlines until 2019 before losing my job due to the pandemic. Friends told me that I’d make a good teacher. I got in touch with Transition to Teach and began my PGCE in 2021/22. As I live in Liverpool, I trained to teach secondary French and Spanish with Archbishop Blanch School Direct Partnership in Liverpool, at both an all-girls’ school and an all-boys’ school. 

“It was fortunate that a job came up within the Trust I worked at when I qualified, and Nigel, my guidance and development advisor at Transition to Teach was a huge support not only with my application but all through my training year and into my Early Career Teacher (ECT) year from September 2022. As I’m half Tunisian and half Belgian, I never attended an English high school, so Nigel was on hand for advice on the cultural aspects of the UK education system as well as practical things such as timetabling.  

“The transferable skills I took with me into teaching from the travel industry include the ability to communicate effectively, think on my feet and act decisively. People often underestimate the travel industry, but it can be stressful. My past industry experience really helps to inspire pupils around future careers, such as at a recent inclusivity day where I prepared Tunisian food and shared pictures of myself meeting elephants in Malaysia and in the cockpit of a plane. It really helps for students to see the use of languages in the real world. 

“Making a difference as a teacher is what makes the job so worthwhile and I particularly enjoy the pastoral side. This year, I was a year 7 form tutor and built good relationships with my students, whether helping them with any challenges they were facing, or talking about getting tickets to see Taylor Swift!”

Data revealed an average of almost 90% of newly qualified teachers who successfully completed the Transition to Teach programme gained employment as teachers. It also highlighted that 90% of newly qualified teachers still see themselves in the teaching profession five years from now.

Nour added: “90% of Transition to Teach trainees saying they’re likely to stay in the profession 5 years from now sounds accurate because I think you only go into teaching if you have a passion for it. You’ve got to be organised, hard-working, approachable, caring and have a good sense of humour. My Transition to Teach experience has been a positive one, and I hope that others are able to benefit from the programme in the future.”