News

Teaching Assistant training makes the grade

26 Mar 2025

A pilot programme led by employability specialist Ingeus to train much-in-demand Teaching Assistants (TAs) for schools across Greater Manchester has scored top marks from all 16 budding TAs who successfully completed the recent course in Oldham. The unemployed participants now hope to move into work, helping to tackle the severe shortage of TAs across the region.

Ingeus charted TAs to be among the top five vacancies across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs. Working with local employer Chalk Education and skills provider Rochdale Training, it tailored specific TA training, combined with employability and life skills, to ready participants on its Working Well Work and Health Programme to apply for TA roles. 

“We want to work with employers in areas of high demand for labour,” explains Jonathan Rooke, Head of Employer Services at Ingeus. “Bringing together partners to support people a step or two away from work, we sourced technical training and added wraparound services to help people become more confident and independent. The idea is that the employers are actively involved in designing the training and benefit from the resulting upskilled applicants.”

The Health, Independence and Progression (HIP) scheme saw the participants intersperse their six-week long intensive TA training with enjoyable health and lifestyle-themed days at local partner organisations. The days helped teach skills such as money management, healthy food preparation, DIY, and mindfulness. Delivered as part of the Working Well offer by the InWorkGM partnership, led by Ingeus, with support from the Working Well Community Investment Fund.

Natasha from Bury is one of the scheme’s successful participants. Unemployed for three years, she is now working part time via Chalk at a specialist school in Oldham. 

“I’d considered TA training before but didn’t have the confidence before HIP,” she says. “It got me into a good routine, meeting people. I feel good and am looking forward to the future.” 

Natasha and her fellow TA graduates received Level 2 Support Work in Schools accreditations with an optional Level 3 Special Educational Needs qualification. 

Nathan Finn, Employer Skills Advisor at Rochdale Training says: “We changed delivery from online to in-person at the Ingeus Oldham centre and altered the schedule to allow for the weekly HIP days. The extra-curricular days were totally unique and are something we’re hoping to build into more of our vocational training.”

Chalk Education, a specialist agency providing staff to schools across Manchester, directly inputted to the course content and presented at information days for interested candidates.

“I was very impressed with the level of training the participants underwent,” says Chalk Education Managing Director, Su Kinney, “with Ingeus also supporting candidates to get DBS checks, workwear clothing, travel expenses, and so on. As an employer, this initiative has given us fee-free access to a pool of committed applicants, at a time when TAs are in very high demand.”

Morgan Frost, Programme Manager in the Inclusive Employment team at GMCA praised the pilot's success, stating, "The HIP programme has shown how community collaboration can transform lives and enhance employment prospects for people across Greater Manchester, and is a good example of how the family of Working Well services in GM continue to support and improve the lives of residents.”