Hibernia College UK, is the largest provider of subject knowledge enhancement courses in England, with over 1,000 students enrolling in its courses each year in teacher qualifications and preparation and development courses.

“The key thing is the way that it approaches this challenge is flexible enough to widen access”

It also offers a flexible “straight to teaching” programme as an alternative way for students to gain a full teaching qualification delivering online as well as in school.

With the acquisition, the company will target teachers who are looking to train while they work, which CEO Rob Grimshaw says could help ease recruitment woes, especially in the international school sector.

“The international schools market is a common thread because the expansion in that marketplace is just extraordinary,” he told The PIE News.

“The key thing is the way that HCUK approaches this challenge is flexible enough to widen access. This potentially opens up the profession to more recruits from more backgrounds.”

As demand for international schools continues to boom globally, recruiting and maintaining teaching staff is a major bugbear among providers. According to the Council of British International Schools there will be a need for 150,000 more teachers in the next 10 years in British schools overseas alone.

Andrew Wigford, Managing Director of Teachers International Consultancy, said that online learning can be an effective solution for those looking to work and train at the same time.

“Online and blended learning approaches are becoming recognised as a hugely valuable way of supporting people who are learning while they work,” he told The PIE News.

“So for HLTAs [Higher Level Teaching Assistant] and others working while studying towards a fully qualified teacher status, flexible courses can be valuable.”

HCUK is the first institution added to TES Global’s growing platform, which also includes the Times Higher Education and the World University Rankings, and Vision for Education, a supply-teacher recruitment agency.