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Recruitment Consultant (Level 3 Apprenticeship) | Education Recruitment

Earn while you learn. Build a career, not just a job.

Principal Education is looking for our next Recruitment Consultant to join our growing team through our Level 3 Recruitment Consultant Apprenticeship.

This isn’t your typical apprenticeship. You’ll be employed full-time from day one, receive a competitive salary, work alongside experienced consultants and complete a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification whilst learning one of the UK’s highest earning professions.

If you’re interested, make sure you read all the way to the bottom.

About Principal

Principal Education was founded to bring genuine innovation to the education recruitment sector.

Whilst most recruitment agencies still operate much the same way they have for years, we’ve invested heavily in technology, structured processes and operational excellence that allow our consultants to perform at a higher level.

Just as Uber connects drivers and passengers through technology, our own platform creates a direct connection between schools and education professionals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The result is a faster, fairer and more efficient recruitment experience for both our candidates and our schools.

We’re now entering our fifth year of trading and have grown into one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent education recruitment agencies. We’ve won national industry awards, hold over 700 five-star reviews, recently achieved APSCo Compliance+ Accreditation with an outstanding 99.38% score, and continue to invest heavily in both our people and our technology.

Technology alone doesn’t build great recruitment businesses.

Great people do.

That’s where you come in.

The Apprenticeship

This role combines full-time employment with a nationally recognised Level 3 Recruitment Consultant Apprenticeship (equivalent to A Levels).

Over approximately 12-15 months, you’ll receive structured training covering:

• Candidate sourcing and interviewing
• Business development
• Client relationship management
• Sales and negotiation
• Recruitment legislation and compliance
• Market analysis
• Professional communication
• Time management
• Organisation
• Commercial awareness

By the end of the programme you’ll be operating as a fully-fledged Recruitment Consultant with a recognised qualification and a clear long-term career pathway.

Applications are welcomed from candidates of all ages.

What You’ll Be Doing

From day one you’ll work alongside one of our experienced Lead Consultants, learning the role through real experience rather than sitting in a classroom.

Your first six months are designed to build the foundations of a successful recruitment career. You’ll receive structured coaching, regular feedback and gradually take ownership of your own desk as your confidence grows.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Interviewing and registering education professionals
• Supporting candidates through our safeguarding and compliance process
• Speaking with schools to understand their recruitment needs
• Business development and introducing Principal to prospective clients
• Attending school visits and client meetings
• Creating professional candidate profiles and polished CVs
• Matching candidates to vacancies
• Keeping candidates informed throughout their assignments
• Chasing timesheets ready for payroll
• Working closely with your Lead Consultant to learn every aspect of the recruitment industry

Recruitment is simple to explain.

We help great people find great jobs.

Doing it exceptionally well requires resilience, organisation, communication skills, commercial awareness and determination.

One thing we want to be completely transparent about is the amount of time you’ll spend on the phone.

Our consultants typically make 200+ outbound calls every day and spend several hours speaking to candidates and clients. Recruitment is a people business, and the telephone remains one of the most important tools we have.

If you genuinely enjoy speaking to people, building relationships and solving problems, you’ll love this career.

If the thought of spending most of your day communicating with people sounds exhausting, this probably isn’t the role for you.

The rewards, however, can be exceptional.

Working Hours

This is a full-time office-based position operating on a rotating shift pattern.

You will work either:

• 7:00am – 4:00pm
• 9:00am – 6:00pm

These shifts allow us to provide excellent service to schools throughout the day while giving flexibility across the team.

Salary & Commission

Starting Salary

£22,600 – £26,500

Your starting salary will depend on your age, previous experience and any relevant qualifications.

During your first six months you’ll work alongside a Lead Consultant, learning every aspect of the role while completing your induction and apprenticeship training.

Following the successful completion of your six-month probation, you’ll become eligible to earn commission in addition to your salary.

From that point onwards, your earnings are entirely driven by your performance.

Career Progression

At Principal, promotions are earned through achievement, not time served.

Everyone follows the same clearly defined career pathway.

As your knowledge, performance and responsibilities increase, so do your earnings.

Typical On Target Earnings:

Recruitment Consultant £28,000

Junior Consultant £36,000

Associate Consultant £51,000

Senior Consultant £76,000

Executive Consultant £100,000

Managing Consultant £125,000

Principal Consultant £150,000

Partner £240,000+

There is no ceiling on what you can achieve.

What Makes Someone Successful?

Recruitment isn’t easy.

If it was, everyone would do it.

The people who succeed here generally possess:

• Resilience and mental toughness
• Excellent organisation
• Outstanding communication skills
• Confidence speaking to people from all backgrounds
• A competitive mindset
• Self-discipline
• Curiosity
• A willingness to learn
• High personal standards
• Ambition to build a successful career

You don’t need recruitment experience.

You do need the right attitude.

What It’s Like to Work Here

We’re ambitious, professional and genuinely enjoy what we do.

The office has a real buzz. You’ll hear consultants celebrating placements, collaborating with one another and yes, there’s usually a DJ set playing quietly in the background.

Success deserves celebrating.

Recent team events have included:

• Michelin-starred lunches
• Rooftop summer parties
• Christmas celebrations
• Team socials
• Networking events
• Performance incentives

We work incredibly hard.

We just don’t believe work has to be boring.

Location

Our office is based at St Katharine Docks, London, just a short walk from:

• Tower Hill
• Tower Gateway
• Fenchurch Street
• Tower Bridge

The Recruitment Process

We’re looking for people with the potential to build exceptional careers, not simply fill a vacancy. As a result, our recruitment process is more thorough than most.

The first stage is a telephone screening interview.

Candidates who impress at this stage will be invited to one of our Assessment Days, taking place during late August.

Our Assessment Day is a full-day, competitive selection process designed to assess communication, resilience, problem-solving, teamwork and your potential to succeed in recruitment.

It isn’t for the faint-hearted, but neither is a career in recruitment.

We believe it’s important that both you and Principal are completely confident we’re the right fit for one another.

Assessment Day places are strictly limited and offered by invitation only following a successful telephone screening.

Successful candidates will join Principal in mid-September, where they’ll begin both their Recruitment Consultant career and their Level 3 Apprenticeship.

Interested?

You could simply submit your CV…

Or you could do what great recruiters do.

Pick up the phone.

Introduce yourself.

Make a great first impression. – Google us to find the office number.

We receive a high number of applications for our trainee programmes each year, and the candidates who demonstrate confidence, initiative and professionalism from the very beginning naturally stand out.

We look forward to hearing from you.