Cabinet maker to woodwork teacher?

Hi all,
My fiancance is currently in the final stages of a fas cabinet maker apprenticeship. He was laid off his job in the summer, he had specialised in the restoration of antique furniture. There are no jobs availble to him upon graduating in 2 weeks time. He is interested in training as a secondary school woodwork teacher, is this possible without doing a 4 year degree? he has already been doing this apprentice for 5 years. I am also in the finals stages of a masters and we want to get on the property ladder next year and plan our wedding.
can he transfer into a h dip in education after his apprentice?

any ideas?
thank you

Hi, my Dad is a woodwork teacher.. he did a 3 yr course for his teaching certificate but some of his colleagues came from apprenticeships under a transfer scheme.. but this was years ago. I would imagine some extra training is necessary as an apprenticeship is a level 5 qualification on the National Framework. I think you need a minimum of level 7 to qualify as a teacher (ordinary degree level). The best thing to do is get some advice from a career guidance counsellor. Also do some substitute teaching if you want to persue the H-Dip but I have a feeling you might need another qualification before your finance would qualify for the H-Dip.

The teaching council will give a definitive answer on this one.

The University of Limerick run a 4 years Materials/Construction Technology degree with concurrent teacher education. They have a mature applicant entry procedure. Not sure if they'll allow your finance to skip a year or two due to the teaching practise element of the course.

Letterfrack/GMIT also have Design and Education technology.

Give the teaching council a bell first. Hope this helps.

you could check with any VEC schools in your area, i think their qualification criteria are different to other schools.

in the meantime if he doesn't have a job might he consider advertising his services in local papers/notice boards. He could also go to antique dealers and have a chat with them, let them know what he does and they might be able to refer some work to him.

also in relation to vec schools but this might apply to other institutions, he might be able to offer evening courses.

he could also talk to local community groups/retired peoples groups etc and they might be interested in holding classes.

good luck!