MOE wants teachers with job experience

OFFICE workers on lunch break were greeted yesterday by an unusual sight opposite Raffles Place MRT Station: a mock secondary school classroom.

The array of desks and chairs - which stood behind walls of clear plastic - was part of a drive to entice corporate high-fliers to give up their jobs and pursue a career in teaching.

The four-day recruitment drive by the Ministry of Education (MOE) will last until Friday.

'Taking the recruitment drive to the heart of Raffles Place will allow us to target office workers who have been thinking about teaching and allow them to find out more about it,' said MOE recruitment marketing manager Gladys Chew.

The ministry, which currently has 29,000 teachers, is looking to add 1,000 new positions by 2010.

It is hoping to lower the student- teacher ratio and is planning for more schools to go single-session.

Ms Chew said the ministry values people with job experience as they have a wealth of knowledge that can make lessons come alive.

It is a demographic that education officials have been increasingly targeting - with some positive results.

An MOE spokesman said a growing number of people are leaving behind their office jobs for the classroom. Last year, about one in five teachers had worked elsewhere for at least one year, compared to about one in seven in 2002.

Besides the mock-up classroom, a booth has been set up at the lobby of the nearby Chevron House. There, people can submit their applications and speak to teachers who switched to the profession in mid-career.

Office workers who dropped by said they are interested both in making a difference in the lives of children and the stability that teaching offers.

Headhunter Foo Chuan Yong, 40, said business at his company has shrunk by half this year due to the recession.

'I do not know what will happen in the future so it is good to have more career options. I've also always been interested in shaping the minds of young people, so I might consider teaching.'

Fresh graduates earn between $2,600 and $2,900 a month as a teacher.

The ministry said mid-career teachers can expect to make more than that, but declined to reveal a range. A spokesman said the salary depends on a teacher's experience and education.

Mr Foo said taking a pay cut would make him think twice about changing careers.

A 24-year-old finance controller, who wanted to be known only as Miss Tan, said teaching is an appealing profession because it would allow her to inspire young people.

'As my current job is desk-bound, I do not get to work with young people like a teacher would. I think the opportunity to make a difference to a young person's life is something which attracts me to teaching.'

She, however, said she has not applied.