What is adult education?
Adult education is pretty tricky to define. However, it tends to involve teaching people over the age of 18, who have left compulsory or higher education and are returning to education in order to learn new things. Most adult education takes place in the form of evening classes, as quite often it has to fit around people′s busy lives. However, adult education can also be explored in the daytime too.
After all, this broad area of education also covers the studies of mature students and people working towards professional qualifications as part of their job, such as trainee accountants studying for their ACCA (Association of Charted Certified Accountants) qualifications.
People who teach in this area of education might be teaching languages, art, cookery, literature, publishing, carpentry, I.T. and all kinds of different courses. They might be lecturing within higher education institutions (e.g. Birkbeck College, a specialist provider of evening higher education, and part of the University of London), adult community colleges, or further education colleges.
Some adult education lecturers might even work for private companies that offer niche business or I.T. skills courses. On the other hand, people who specialise in private tuition might be teaching people in the comfort of their own homes.
This area of teaching can be especially fun and rewarding, as your students are more likely to have a genuine desire to learn. However, teaching in this area is an entirely different challenge to teaching children. You may use different teaching methods and techniques, and you will need the ability to communicate with students on a much more equal grounding. It′s also important to bear in mind that most adult educators work on a part-time basis. However, some people do pursue these careers full-time.
What will I be doing in an adult education career?
Careers in adult education teaching or lecturing are not simply about turning up in the evening, chatting a little bit about a certain subject and then going home to bed. These teachers need the right qualifications or experience, and need to do the same level of lesson planning, preparation and administrative work as other professional educators.
It really depends on the kind of class and the level of education, but most adult education lecturers will be responsible for overseeing and marking standardised tests too.
Some of these people may even offer a ‘distance learning’ or ‘e-learning’ service to their students, so that they can study at home. Consequently, they will need to produce and process all the relevant documentation and computer programmes in order to allow their students to learn in this way.
People that specialise in private tuition provide more personal and focused educational attention to individual students or small groups. They might deal with private family clients and provide school pupils with additional tuition to help them pass their exams.
Alternatively, these educators might be hired by local government or corporate clients and provide skills-based tuition to individual employees. They might even help foreign nationals who want to improve their language skills.
Furthermore, many private tutors may provide home-based tutoring to children with additional learning needs, or to children that can′t attend school for medical or social reasons. Private tutors can offer educational help in a wide range of subjects and at various academic levels. They tend to be self-employed or work on behalf of private tuition agencies.
To work in adult education or private tuition, you might need a degree in your area of expertise, a formal education qualification (e.g. PGCE, BEd etc.), or significant professional experience in a certain vocational area.
Alternatively, you could study for a Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS). Check out the Lifelong Learning UK website for more details! Again, as in all areas of teaching, you will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, previously known as CRB, or Criminal Records Bureau) check to teach in this area.
Adult education is frequently overlooked in terms of its importance, but it is an incredibly beneficial sector, in that it allows people a second chance to gain qualifications. If you would like to make a real difference to the lives of adults, whether in public institutions or as a private educator, this could be the perfect field for you to work in.
⇒Take a variety of different classes. Don′t pigeonhole yourself into one tight line of study. Branch out and take a good look around to see what interests you.
⇒Complete a few self-assessment tests. Self–assessment tests can tell you a lot about yourself and may help you match your skills and interests with possible careers.
⇒Develop a career inventory. What kind of organization do you want to work for? What type of environment do you prefer? How much travel do you want to do? What kind of work schedule do you prefer? Think it through on your own, or take a career and interest assessment to get your answers.
⇒Research different careers. Browse the Bureau of Labor Statistics home page for detailed descriptions of different careers and statistics about the fastest growing fields.
⇒Use your college′s career center. Research materials, useful lectures, alumni contacts, self-assessment tests, interview workshops and the latest resume and career development software await you.
⇒Join a professional association Joining a professional association in your field of choice is a great way to tap into a career network.
⇒Network Meeting people who work in your prospective field can give you valuable insight into what life is like in that career. Gather information by gathering contacts.
⇒Arrange some informational interviews. There′s no better way to get a feel for a certain career than talking to professionals in the field. Find them through your college′s career center, your school′s alumni association, job fairs and professional organizations.
Why do we need corporate training & team building?
The need for education, learning and developing new skills does not stop at schools, colleges and universities. Indeed, many businesses want their employees to receive training, attend courses and earn qualifications to improve their performance and productivity.
Many individuals also want to improve their own personal knowledge, skills and qualifications to boost their employability. Consequently, the world of work needs corporate trainers and team building consultants!
If you′ve seen David Brent′s cringe-worthy motivational seminar in The Office, you might be excused for thinking that people working in corporate training are delusional, offering cheesy and pointless speeches to employees who don′t actually care about getting any further training.
However, this stereotype is far from the truth. If carried out effectively, corporate training and team building schemes can really help companies to reach their business objectives, and, if that sounds like what you're after, a graduate job in this field could await you.
What do corporate educators actually do?
People who work in this corporate area of education tend to be teaching people about skills, methods and techniques rather than facts and figures. It is a form of teaching with very specific business-driven goals. It might involve giving people the relevant knowledge and practical skills to pass professional qualifications, or simply giving people general guidance on communication, teamwork and cooperation.
Working in this area of education can be challenging, as cynical adult employees might be resistant to your various training methods. However, most people are often glad to be doing something different to their normal daily tasks, so working in these careers can be extremely fun, especially considering the interactive nature of the teaching methods.
Indeed, whilst some corporate training might be carried out in the form of serious lectures, talks and seminars, a lot of corporate training and team building activities involve playing games and doing tasks.
What do I need to get into corporate training?
People who pursue careers in corporate training tend to either work in-house for large companies (i.e. in their HR department), for independent corporate training companies, or are often self-employed.
Excellent presentation and communication skills are essential. These guys need to have the ability to engage with a large group of people, whom they have probably never met before (and who, admittedly, might be a little bit cynical).
Many corporate trainers will use similar methods and tricks to engage their audience and get their messages across. However, it′s all about developing your own style and using your personality and ideas to be effective.
The most important thing in this area of education is to know your stuff; if you are spouting uninformed rubbish, then the highly-professional people that you are coaching will find you out pretty quickly. Corporate trainers often have a wealth of personal success, experience and knowledge. After all, people want to receive training from people with proven skills and know-how. To work in this highly-competitive area, corporate trainers need to be on their toes, and know about technological advances and changes to business methodologies.
All things considered, it′s very rare that you would start off your career directly coaching people about business skills and corporate matters. Many corporate trainers actually come from a human resources background, so this might be a good place to start. Alternatively, you might be able to secure an assistant position with an independent corporate trainer or training company, and learn the trade from there.
What do I need to get into team building?
People who work as team building consultants have pretty fun jobs. These guys are in charge of running fun schemes, which encourage existing team members to improve their teamwork, cooperation and decision-making skills.
These training schemes can involve simple bonding exercises and more complex games and tasks, such as putting a tent up when you are blindfolded. Team building schemes all have a specific purpose; it′s not just about messing around and having a laugh. Team building consultants will plan a range of activities in accordance with the client company′s specific objectives. The games are then designed to develop skills that can be translatable back into the work environment.
To thrive in these careers, you need to be friendly, have excellent communication skills and have the ability to motivate and engage people you have never met before.
Most people might start off as assistants, who actively help organise events and offer advice to people who are doing the activities. There are chances for promotion, however, where you′ll get the opportunity to lead and manage training schemes, and perhaps even start your own team building consultancy.
