TES – Small Changes, Big Impact
The Times Educational Supplement has decided to remove its dedicated section for the private tutor vacancies and it will affect the whole of the tutoring industry.
There have been a few times in my career when I have found myself frustrated and not a little disappointed, and the recent changes to the Times Educational Supplement (TES) is one. It’s a publication that many see as vital to the recruitment of high-quality teaching staff in the educational sector, and one that Tutor’s International has been using for many years. However, the publishers have made the decision to stop their dedicated section for private tutor job vacancies on the online version of the newspaper. As well as this, the miscellaneous section on the back page of the print supplement will also be lost.
I find these changes a real concern, while I sympathise with the TES and the difficulty they say they face in verifying the authenticity of jobs in this section, I’m surprised the publishers haven’t sought a way around the problem, as many high-quality tutoring applicants came from this popular and respected source, and the knock-on effect of this missing recruitment section will have far-reaching implications for the industry.
And my concern isn’t solely for Tutors International’s recruitment process, I’m also genuinely worried about how these changes will impact tutors looking for work.
By removing the private tutoring job section, the tutoring industry will fail to reach this huge wealth of teaching talent, and teachers will lose out by remaining unaware of these exciting, rewarding and highly paid teaching placements.
Removing the ‘miscellaneous’ section on the back page of the print supplement is another pity as this section, famed as the home of interesting and out-of-the-ordinary vacancies, will be sorely missed. Each of our placements has specific demands that need to be catered for. We do not have a ‘one size fits all’ policy, each post has its own individual requirements and therefore is advertised separately.
And the move also misses many existing teachers who have become jaded and are looking for inspiration that these sections offered.
This seemingly small change in formatting will have a knock-on effect within the tutoring industry: students, parents, tutors and organisations like ourselves will suffer the consequences. By not providing for this core area of education, the TES is neglecting the needs of a large portion of society and missing out on their share of the profitable private tutoring market.
My experience is that the Times Educational Supplement has a serious learning disability – myopia and tunnel vision combined.