Having recruited and supported over 1,300 career changers into teaching since 2016, we know that when experienced professionals bring their skills, knowledge and perspectives into schools, pupils benefit from broader experiences, different perspectives and stronger connections between their learning and the world they will navigate beyond school.
By attracting and supporting experienced professionals into teaching, we strengthen the teaching workforce and expand the skills, perspectives and experiences available to young people
We welcome the increased emphasis on ensuring young people have the skills and understanding of careers they need to succeed. Our Network of teachers are uniquely well placed to help deliver on this agenda, collectively bringing with them thousands of years of years of experience in their prior professions into schools and classrooms across the country.
Our CEO Graihagh-Crawshaw Sadler reflects:
"After an action-packed few days at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, I came away reflecting on two themes that ran through almost every conversation I had: skills and collaboration.
"From closing the disadvantage gap and widening access to enrichment, to strengthening vocational pathways, improving teacher retention and preparing young to navigate their future world, there was a strong recognition that these challenges are interconnected – and that no school, organisation or sector can address them alone.
"For Now Teach, there was also a clear connection to something we see every day: the distinctive contribution experienced career changers can make in schools."
Connecting learning with life beyond school
Again and again, conversations went beyond the immediate question of skills shortages to something deeper: whether young people can see how what they learn at school connects to the careers, opportunities and lives ahead of them. As Education Secretary Lucy Powell noted, young people can disengage when they cannot see the relevance of what they are learning.
This is where the Career Changer Difference makes an impact.
People who have spent significant parts of their careers outside education bring knowledge, perspectives, professional experience and networks with them when they become teachers. They can draw on that experience to contextualise a subject, show where knowledge and skills might be applied and help pupils imagine possibilities beyond school.
Our Now Teachers bring an average of 28 years of professional experience outside education with them. Many have worked in sectors including finance, technology, media, consulting, science and engineering.
That experience does not make them better teachers, nor is it the answer to the skills challenge alone. But, combined with learning the craft of teaching, it can be a valuable additional resource and network for students to benefit from.
The importance of role models and networks came through strongly too. Research shared at conference by Dani Payne from the Social Market Foundation suggested that 42% of 16-year-olds eligible for Free School Meals did not know anyone working in a professional occupation.
Teachers cannot be expected to solve that challenge alone. But career changers can help widen the range of experiences and connections pupils encounter through school – acting as one of many bridges to opportunities they may not otherwise see.
The same theme emerged in conversations about enrichment.
There was real focus on ensuring that access to experiences beyond the classroom is not determined by a young person's background. Enrichment can help pupils develop confidence, resilience, interests and skills, as well as introducing them to people, places and possibilities that will set them up to navigate their futures.
Now Teachers are already contributing to this in their schools – through clubs, trips and enrichment activities The Enrichment for All coalition will be an essential vehicle to support equity of offer, joined up thinking and local to national implementation through collaboration.
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Closing the disadvantage gap
Perhaps the most important thread running through all of these conversations was opportunity. Dame Rachel de Souza described child poverty as a “scandal”, and the continuing disadvantage gap was at the heart of many discussions.
That matters deeply to Now Teach.
We want to increase the number of Now Teachers we support and retain in schools serving communities experiencing greater disadvantage, because it is in these schools that the additional skills, experiences and networks career changers bring will have particular potential.
Our ambition isn't simply to bring more experienced professionals into teaching. It is to help them become great teachers, thrive and remain in the profession, and harness what they have learned during previous life and careers for the benefit of their pupils.
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What happens next matters most
Labour Party Conference 2026 took place in Liverpool from 27–30 September, bringing together political, education, business and third-sector organisations from across the country.
For me, the value of those few days was in the countless conversations that crossed those boundaries.
Different conversations, but a remarkably consistent message.
This government and our sector have ambitious goals to safeguard positive futures for young people: to close attainment gaps, widen access to enrichment, develop essential skills, strengthen vocational pathways and make future careers and opportunities more visible.
Delivering those ambitions will require collaboration yes nationally but crucially, locally.
It will also require us to recognise and make better use of the extraordinary range of skills and experiences already within – and potentially available to – our teaching workforce.
Experienced career changers are one part of that picture. At Now Teach, we look forward to continuing conversations with the Department for Education and partners across the sector about the role Now Teachers can play to strengthen the educational experiences and ultimately the futures of young people in this country.