Benefits of joining The Tutors Association

Tutoring is an unregulated industry and it is not mandatory for one to be a member of the TTA for them to provide tutoring services. There are, however, several benefits of membership, which they have summarised as:

The Association has a number of key initiatives and facilities available to members:

• Jobs Posting Board: This is a facility where tutoring job opportunities are posted by Tutors and Tutoring Companies alike. It’s a direct route to new business opportunities.

• Searchable Directory of tutors/tutoring companies: The Directory of Members is searchable by anyone seeking a Tutor or Tutoring Company. They can search by subject, level, and location and then contact you directly

• Continuous Professional Development (CPD): a comprehensive free-tomembers CPD platform and learning management system. This currently contains more than 50 courses across topics as diverse as tutoring SEND students, latest advances in pedagogy and marketing advice on how to grow your business. New courses will be added regularly.

• DBS Check support: TTA can assist you to obtain, and maintain, your up-todate DBS check

• Fantastic events: including Webinars and Community Hub meetings as well as the annual National Tutors’ Conference. Great ways to network and stay right up to date with topics of interest.

• TTA's Members' Collaboration Forum on Facebook, where participants can share ideas, ask questions, help each other and encourage debate.

• Discounts: Access to many valuable discounts (exclusive to TTA members) on offer through our Affiliate Partners

Choosing what subjects and levels to tutor

Based on statistics and research, it is clear that some subjects are more popular than others when it comes to private tutoring. However, don’t worry if you don’t have expertise in any of the ‘popular’ subjects. If a subject is popular, the marketplace for tutors in that subject tends to be more competitive, so if you have expertise in something a little more niche, as long as there’s demand for tutoring in the subject, you could be in a better position to market yourself in that area.

Here are some questions to consider before deciding what subjects you’ll tutor:

1. In which subject do you hold your highest qualification? The more qualified you are in a subject, the more appealing you’ll be to students and parents.

2. What other subjects have you studied academically (ideally at university level)? You may have enough knowledge to tutor additional subjects at a lower level.

3. Up to what level do you feel confident in tutoring each of your subjects? If you’re confident that you understand the course content well, in most cases, that’s all the experience you need to start tutoring.

4. What’s the marketplace like for tutoring in your subject? This one can be tricky to determine but a simple Google search for private tutors in your local area should give you an idea of how many tutors already offer your subject. Private tutor jobs boards and Gumtree can also provide you with a good indication of how popular specific subjects are.