Rhys Jones Q&A - Educators Wales Advocacy and support service

Educators Wales features a range of services which bring together career, training, and job opportunities within Wales’ education sector, into one, easy to access location. The jobs portal, one of the biggest for the education sector in Wales, regularly features more vacancies than any other provider. It’s the go to place for job searchers.

We caught up with Rhys Jones, a civil servant who wanted to change his career. Through Educators Wales, Rhys found information and support to help him get a place on an initial teacher education (ITE) programme.

How did you hear about Educators Wales?

I was researching a career change into teaching, and I found NowTeach via the 'Getting into teaching' page on gov.uk. I was referred to Educators Wales when they realised I lived in Wales, and was intending on getting into teaching in Wales.

How did Educators Wales support you?

Educators Wales invited me to attend a webinar, along with two other prospective teachers. They took us through the application process, the support that was available to us and the kinds of things that admissions staff would be looking for on the application, personal statement, and at an interview.

Educators Wales staff were there to answer my questions about what to include in the personal statement, when I was completing the UCAS application.

I then also had a one-to-one session online with a member of the Educators Wales team to help prepare me for the interview stage. They gave me useful hints and tips, including what to expect from the interview, and the process.

What inspired you to want to train as a teacher?

My job involved a lot of training other civil servants, and also coaching them to improve the quality of their work over the course of several months, or even years. I gradually realised that I was enjoying the teaching aspect of my job a lot, which made me look at getting into teaching.

What services did you use from Educators Wales?

I attended a PGCE workshop, engaged with Educators Wales staff via email for on-going support with the application, and had a one-to-one interview preparation call online. They also put me in touch with some of the lecturers at the universities I was looking at applying to, in case there were any specific questions I wanted to ask about the programme I was applying to.

How did the support you received help you?

Every step of support offered by Educators Wales alleviated anxieties around the application process. It had been a long time since the last time I'd applied for an university place. There was no support from school this time around. It could have made me feel very isolated and alienated, but thanks to Educator Wales, it wasn’t so bad!

Would you recommend Educators Wales services to others?

Absolutely! The information available online cannot compare to speaking with trained, helpful staff who want you to succeed in your application.

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From September 2023, Rhys will be starting an ITE programme in Wales, to become a mathematics teacher. If you would like advice, guidance or support with applications orr interviews, get in touch with the team.