The Academia Training Contract
Individuals with an interest in starting or switching to a career in teaching may apply for Academia’s Training Contract. The Training Contract is a year-long programme designed to ensure that you gain the necessary skills and breadth of experience needed to confidently tutor and advise students at the level expected at Academia.
Curriculum Induction
As a trainee, you will be trained in Academia’s curriculum over the year, working with experienced colleagues to design content, review student work, and draft student feedback. While trainees will not teach classes on their own, you will be placed as a teaching assistant, and co-teach at least 100 classes over the course of the Training Contract, across different departments and different teachers. This will allow you to develop your own understanding of what makes a good teacher, and evaluate strategies to work with different types of student personalities. You will also be given opportunities to develop a number of skills, including constructive feedback, teaching psychology, and client management.
Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)
As part of the Training Contract, you will be expected to apply for and complete a PGDE from an accredited UK university, a list of which will be provided by our People and Culture team. A specified number of work hours will be provided for completion of coursework, and the cost of the PGDE will be entirely borne by Academia as long as you remain with Academia for the full 1-year period of the Training Contract and successfully complete the PGDE.
Support and Mentorship
You will be also familiarised with the extensive support provided by the Management and Administration Office. This includes our Design Department with their range of design templates for curriculum and worksheets, to Operations, which handles any of your requests for printing, stationery, pantry, logistics, and facilities. Our Front Office team works to abstract away scheduling complexities, and facilitate communications with parents and students.
Our People and Culture team is also dedicated to supporting and guiding you through your career as a teacher. In addition to your appointed mentor, you may at any point of time schedule a meeting with either your team leader, our head of mentorship, or any People and Culture members for advice. Academia is an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to providing equal opportunities throughout employment.
Honorarium, Benefits, and Career Progression
During the Training Contract, you will be provided with an honorarium of S$38,400, as well as a comprehensive benefits package that includes healthcare and outpatient medical insurance. Your leave benefits increase with number of years with Academia, and this starts from the first day of your Training Contract.
At the end of the Training Contract, your appointment as Associate Teacher is purely dependent on performance reviews by your
supervising teachers. As a first year Associate Teacher, you will still be placed largely in co-teaching roles, but will begin to lead lessons rather than purely assist. Following this, your performance will be evaluated based on student performance, parent and student feedback, supervisor reviews, and your ability to manage a larger number of students.
In addition to annual inflation adjustments, Associate Teachers are provided with annual salary increments, and are additionally
considered for promotion to Senior Teacher based on both performance and experience. Similarly, Senior Teachers will be considered for promotion to Head Teacher based on performance and experience. Highly experienced teachers with exceptional performance records may be further be considered for Principal Teacher roles, and those with managerial inclinations may also be considered for Director-level roles.
