There are a lot of different roles in education, requiring different skills. Here we look at the skills you need to be a teacher, trainer or tutor.

1. Communication

A huge part of teaching is communicating information. It might be verbal, written, or via any other route from practical demonstrations to artistic interpretation – whatever gets your point across.

How to develop it:

• Telephone jobs, such as calling alumni for donations or volunteering for a peer support line, develop your verbal communication skills and build your confidence.
• Join a debating society, a student council, or even an improv group.
• Join a student magazine or take responsibility for a society website.

2. Patience

People learn at all different rates. If you have to explain something seven times in seven different ways before it sticks, that′s just part of the job. And when faced with challenging behaviour, you need to stay calm and patient and not lose your temper.

How to develop it:

• Patience is one of those inherent character traits – but it is possible to improve yours. Practise thinking before you speak, or make patience your goal for the day.

3. Creativity

People learn best when they′re doing something fun and interesting. It′s up to you to be creative in your approach, finding novel and enjoyable ways for your students to learn.

How to develop it:

• Take up an artistic hobby, like painting, music or drama.
• Get used to sharing ideas and brainstorming when you have a problem – it′s a skill that will help you connect with your colleagues in future and come up with more creative solutions.
• Get inspiration. Take any opportunity to volunteer in a classroom and learn from the teacher′s approach.

4. Enthusiasm

Your enthusiasm is infectious. If you love your subject and your job, you′ll be able to engage the people you teach.

How to develop it:

• It′s hard to fake enthusiasm, so aim to teach a subject you love.
• If you have to do something boring, turn it into something you can be enthusiastic about – make a game of data entry, or write poems to help you memorise facts.
• In your studies, look for ways you can go above and beyond. Read books that aren′t on the reading list, take on extra projects, and show that you love what you do.

5. Confidence

Children can smell fear… no, just kidding. Confidence helps you when you′re standing up and directing a class, whether your students are kids or adults. A lot of education sector jobs involve public speaking, so confidence is a must.

How to develop it:

• Try new things and set yourself challenges. If you can do things that scare you, you can handle anything.
• Confident people can be themselves without worrying about pleasing others and fitting in. If you find this hard, experiment with saying the words, ‘No,′ and ‘I disagree′.

6. Dedication

There′s no denying that teaching can be tough at times. If you′re dedicated to helping your students succeed, you′ll be able to keep up your energy levels and avoid getting discouraged.

How to develop it:

• Work on your empathy. When you put yourself in someone else′s shoes you can better understand why they′re struggling.

7. Conflict resolution

Especially in secondary schools, this can be a big part of the job. If you can defuse tense situations before they explode, you be able to handle it when teenagers upset each other or test your authority.

How to develop it:

• You′ll learn behaviour management skills during your teacher training, but there′s no harm in getting a head start. Find a workshop, or read up on tips online and try to apply them in everyday life.
• Many volunteering positions will offer you conflict resolution training, particularly if you′ll be working with children or teenagers.
• Be aware of how you act. If you end up in a conflict at work, with your friends or during a project, sit down afterwards and think about how you reacted and what you might do differently next time.

8. Organisation

If you′re a schoolteacher, organisation skills will help you to fit marking and lesson planning around your school hours, and file and reuse the resources you develop.

How to develop it:

• Practise organisation while you study. If a friend asked to borrow your lecture notes, would you know where to find them straight away? If not, sit down and work out a system.
• Keep your calendar up-to-date and plan out how you′ll fit your to-do list items into each day. (Don′t have a to-do list? That′s another thing to work on.)