Graduates 'underrate' teaching jobs - graduate jobs

Graduates think teachers have little chance of promotion and slow career progression, a study of 1,000 university leavers has shown.

A similar Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) poll of 1,000 members of the public showed the same attitude towards the profession, which the agency said was "outdated and old-fashioned".

Teaching may be underrated, but teachers themselves thought they had good career opportunities, said the TDA as it launched a recruitment drive in Birmingham, London and Manchester.

"With teaching recruiting record numbers of people in 2009 the profession is attracting increasing numbers of top quality graduates and career changers," said TDA chief executive Graham Holley.

"As a result it is becoming more and more competitive. It is no longer just a safe job that is all right for a fall-back. It is a profession with increasing status that is getting harder to get into, year by year, because more of the most talented people in this country are turning to it as their first choice.

"However, there is a danger that outdated and old-fashioned perceptions of teaching could continue to put off some candidates."