Agency offers career in teaching to sacked bankers

Thousands of bankers and finance staff who have lost their jobs as a result of the crash of Lehman Brothers are being wooed to become teachers.

The Teaching and Development Agency (TDA) – which is responsible for recruitment – is setting up stands at Canary Wharf, near the bank's UK headquarters, and at Liverpool Street station in the City. The agency is also booking hotel suites in the financial districts to give presentations to former banking staff.

At least one in three new teachers has joined the profession as a second career. "They are career changers and many of them have moved from City careers," said a spokesman for the TDA. "We are moving very swiftly to put TDA people and stands in prominent City locations. We want to contact those people who have either been directly affected by the Lehman and XL [the holiday firm which went bankrupt at the weekend] collapse or caught up in it and have the opportunity to look at teaching as a career.

He added: "Many of these people have at the back of their mind that they're ready to move on."

Graham Holley, the chief executive of the agency, added that it had been "a good year" for recruitment to teaching. "Do we expect to benefit from the credit crunch? In time, yes, but I think that is probably more likely next year than this year."

The TDA is particularly anxious to recruit more maths and science teachers – of which there are acute shortages.