Pathways to Your New Career as a Teacher in New Zealand

We will always need good teachers. And if this is a career you would like to pursue, teaching can come with tremendous rewards.

In Aotearoa, New Zealand, we hold our teachers to a high standard. And rightly so. Among the top 20 OECD counties for quality of education, the commitment to providing students with the most caring, motivated and quality teachers is what sets New Zealand Schools apart from many others.

So, what is the best way to get your foot in the door? Depending on where you are in your life’s journey will affect how and where you need to focus your attention.

To become a qualified New Zealand teacher, you must attend a tertiary establishment to gain a Bachelor’s degree. This enables graduates to meet the requirements for the initial teacher registration through the Teaching Council.

There are also options to study for a teaching qualification that focuses on te reo Māori, te ao Māori or Pacific Island languages and cultures.

The minimum entry requirement for studying this qualification is University Entrance. There are bridging courses available for those who did not gain UE from high school, allowing the degree to be accessible to anyone with a strong desire to teach.

With the degree taking three years full-time or part-time equivalent, there are also options for studying while employed as a trainee teacher. 

If you are not ready to commit to a full teaching degree just yet, there are other teaching jobs that will require less initial study time. 

There is even the opportunity to take your learning and knowledge with you if you decide to become a qualified teacher further down the track. At each University’s discretion, previous experience can be assessed, and recognition of prior learning for credits can be applied to allow you to carry formal and non-formal skills over to avoid repeat training on a subject.

Being a life coach involves crafting unique relationships with clients, encouraging areas of strength, and identifying parts of a clients life that needs reinforcing to improve their situation, in either a professional or personal sense. 

This career could provide a wealth of experience in communication, encouragement and support towards people, along with the fulfilment of seeing others reach their goals with your help.

There is no set time frame to becoming a trained life coach and with courses available online and in-person, you can tailor your learning to your needs. 

As well as having flexible study options available, many courses provide payment plans, have full-payment discounts and ‘course happiness’ guarantees to ensure all students are confident in commencing studies.

The benefit of becoming a teacher’s aid is that you will work in a school environment closely with qualified school teachers. This role will most likely have a strong focus on the classroom’s administrative side alongside working closely with children day to day. You may even be able to gain recognition of prior learning from this role should you decide to take on the teaching degree at a later stage.

You could complete a teachers aid course at your own pace with many courses provided online.

Working with infants or toddlers in early childhood can be incredibly fulfilling. In this role you will nurture, provide safety and instil fundamental skills to young children resulting in some of the most rewarding outcomes. 

Some short courses available can allow you to gain the knowledge to enter a job and potentially build on your education level in the sector. This could also be a great start point for further study of becoming an early childhood educator or teacher.

Building on your knowledge from a work environment to specialise in training and assessing individuals could be an incredibly accessible way to branch into teaching. 

This option can be adaptable to your professional strengths. 

Trainers are needed throughout  businesses in areas like office administration, human resources and trades, and although training is not a traditional teaching role, it can be just as rewarding. 

Requirements for this job would be a sound knowledge in your area of expertise and could require upskilling in certain areas specific to your needs. It would also require you to have the ability to define training needs, strategise lessons and have experience in dealing with people or topics that may be difficult. 

*Every institution and course will have varying costs to study. The best way to obtain a reliable course cost quote is directly from the institution.

Do you love to see others inspired? Would you enjoy witnessing knowledge grow? Are you a good communicator, eager to find a career in the vast area of education?

If so, then teaching — in all its forms — can be incredibly fulfilling. And with more options to gain entry to this exciting field available to us than ever, your vision of a new teaching career can be closer than you think.