When you've made the decision to go for initial teacher training it's easy to take things just one day at a time, and be so utterly absorbed by the training process that working as a qualified teacher can seem aeons away. But one thing that all teacher trainees will agree on without fail, is that the months spent on a PGCE fly by quicker than you can imagine and in no time you will have hit the ground running straight into your first post as a fully qualified teacher.

After you've been training for about a term it's a good idea to start researching the job market. While there can be no guarantees of employment in any profession at least in teaching you know you're likely to get a job especially if you can be flexible over where you are located. Registering with a specialist recruitment website such as www.eteach.com will ensure that you keep up to date with the job market and get to hear about suitable vacancies when they arise. As soon as you see a job that you'd like to go for, apply. You can never be too early, especially if you're really careful about only going for jobs that are appropriate for you as a newly qualified teacher.

The bridge between training and your first years as a teacher is your induction period. Although this is a crucial time - you have to pass this period in order to be able to teach in a maintained school - by far the majority of newly qualified teachers are successful. It's important, though, to make sure that any jobs you go for will allow you to complete your induction period, as not all do. You don't have to start induction immediately, but it's best to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

The Induction Team at the Teacher Training Agency is keen to stress that induction forms the grounding for continuing professional development throughout your teaching career. It's a stepping-stone in career development and that's something that has now become part of the lifeblood of teachers. Sure, you learn a lot while you're training, but teaching is a profession in which it's impossible to stagnate. The learning doesn't stop once QTS is granted!

As you come to the end of your PGCE you will be asked to start considering your future training needs. You'll use your Career Entry and Development Profile, which has been designed specifically to help you think about your professional development at key points of your training and induction. It focuses on three transition points: as you approach the award of Qualified Teacher Status, at the start of induction and towards the end of induction. The purpose of focussing in on these transition points is to help you make constructive connections between initial teacher training, induction and your continuing development as a teacher. It also helps you to focus your reflection on your achievements and goals in the earliest stages of your teaching career and to have collaborative discussions about your professional development needs which will take place as part of your induction.

As early as possible in your first job you'll sit down with your induction tutor and discuss what support you need to move from trainee to teacher. Throughout your induction, which lasts for the equivalent of one school year full-time, you have certain entitlements:

• An induction tutor/mentor who has the responsibility for ensuring that your induction is individualized and will enable fair judgements to be made of your work. This induction tutor is your line manager as far as your induction is concerned.
• A reduced timetable of 90% of the normal teaching load for teachers at your school. This additional 'spare' time is so that you can undertake targeted professional development training that is specific to your needs at the time.
• A schedule of observations of you teaching, with one being as early on in the first term as possible so that you aren't left to 'sink or swim'.
• A schedule of 3 formal assessment meetings through the year, with other informal support meetings scattered regularly through each term. You should feel free and able to discuss anything that concerns you with your induction tutor or another trusted colleague. It's really important not to let concerns pile up in what can be a busy, if not hectic, year.
• A list of duties (or job description) and all the relevant literature relating to your job such as departmental handbooks, school policies and procedures.

While most teachers manage to secure employment for a September start as they are completing their training, some either opt to do supply work for a while or are unable to find a job immediately due to local competition factors. The key here is not to panic. Teaching vacancies arise throughout the academic year for a wide variety of reasons and all is not lost if you find you start your first job mid-way through the year. This doesn't adversely affect your induction, and if, for whatever reason, you have been doing a series of short-term supply posts and have not been able to start your induction period your LEA now has the power to extend (under certain circumstances) the four-term period during which you are able to work as a supply teacher without starting induction.

It's probably fair to say that there has in the past been a tendency for new teachers to think of their first year in the profession as another stage to 'get through' - a hoop that needs jumping. But that's not at all how the NQT year is intended to be. If your year as a trainee teacher is all about gaining the grounding you need to perform effectively in the classroom, the induction period is about honing those skills and establishing yourself as a fully reflective practitioner in a dynamic and fulfilling profession. What marks your NQT year is your continuing development far more than any assessments that are made, and to this end, it can be a year bringing unparalleled rewards.