If you’ve seen this blog today – perhaps you’ve seen it shared over on our LinkedIn page or, in exploring the Isotope offering, you found yourself looking at some of our recruitment startup guides – the chances are you’re an experienced education recruitment consultant exploring the idea of starting your own education recruitment agency.
You may focus on the primary market, the secondary market, the FE market, the SEN market – or perhaps your responsibilities span across a number of education specialisms. You may focus on everything from the day-to-day supply of temporary TAs, Teachers & support staff, or perhaps you specialise in long-term cover and permanent appointments across academies, trusts & private schools alike.
Whatever your background, we know how rewarding, challenging & exciting the education market is. So we understand – through both intuition & experience – that you may feel you’re at a point in your career where it feels right to start your own recruitment agency.
But whatever your journey, and whatever your reason for being here today – here’s where we talk about how to start your own education recruitment agency.
Not your typical “how-to” guide – Isotope has supported many recruiters in launching their own agencies, and we’ve picked up a thing or two when it comes to effective & specific support for recruiters in education.
Our aim is to walk you through what you really need to consider – based on genuine experience & hands-on expertise from the Isotope team.
When starting & running your own education recruitment agency, you must ensure you are aware of the compliance & legality around running an agency within the education market. Sounds obvious, we know, but it is vital that you, as the owner, know what your responsibilities are.
Over time, Isotope has supported & worked with agencies to ensure they are aware of responsibilities such as reference checking, DBS and/or List 99 checking, interview processes, candidate registrations (ID, right to work checks, proof of address), certificates of qualification, disqualification by association declarations (where appropriate), and general safeguarding measures.
These are processes you may already be familiar with, but when launching your own agency, speak to the Isotope team to ensure you have all the relevant documentation and procedures to stay compliant.
Once confident in your process, make sure you have a secure record-keeping system. There’s no point being diligent if you can’t store, amend, or update records securely! Some CRMs are tailored for education recruiters and automate much of this. Ask Isotope about the platforms other successful agency owners use.
Lastly, each education agency should ensure safeguarding training is in place for all temps, using a third-party provider. Platforms we recommend include Virtual College, Educare, and the NSPCC.
Accreditations aren’t a legal requirement, but they’re a great way to build credibility. Some of our clients have found real value in securing them.
You may consider:
Also ensure you have access to a DBS checking facility. One we highly recommend is UCheck, an online service returning results within 48 hours.
The education market is challenging because it’s rewarding, and rewarding because it’s challenging. It’s also historically candidate-short.
For example, teacher numbers fell by 7% from 2007 to 2019 while pupil numbers are rising – and 1 in 5 new teachers leave within two years. This makes recruiting & retaining top educators a real challenge.
So, what does that mean for your agency? Opportunity. The opportunity to partner with schools, show value, and retain top teachers.
Ask yourself:
One example is LT Support, who created a “Partnership Programme” (LT Partners) with our help – designed to attract, retain & train schools to rely on them exclusively. Be bold and think differently!
If you’re launching a supply agency, the big question becomes: How do I pay my candidates before clients pay me?
This is one of the most common questions we hear. Instead of scrambling to cover weekly teacher payroll yourself, there’s a better way.
You’ll need to work with a Factoring & Payroll provider. Isotope works with 95% of lenders in the market and can match you with the right one – based on your needs, not ours.
It’s crucial that when speaking with any supplier, you’re clear on your agency goals – and work with someone who understands the education space.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but our goal is to help you start asking the right questions. If you’re considering launching your own education recruitment agency, start here – and if you’re ready for more, take a look at our other blogs or speak to the Isotope team directly.
Are you a motivated education recruitment consultant keen to understand more about how Isotope can help you?
Get in touch with one of the superstar team today to find out how we can help you.
