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Special educational needs assistant

Also called SEN TA, SEN teacher's aide, SEN teaching assistant

Special educational needs assistants assist special education teachers in their classroom duties. They tend to the physical needs of students with a variety of disabilities and help out with tasks such as bathroom breaks, bus rides, eating and classroom switches. They also provide instructional support to students, teachers and parents and prepare lesson programmes. Special educational needs assistants supply support for students tailored to their specific needs, help out with challenging assignments and monitor students' progress and classroom behaviour.

Will there be jobs?Average prospects28 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Personal care workersWhat does it pay?Below averageFrom about €900 (Bulgaria) to €4,700 (Luxembourg) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Personal care workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 7 in 10 train through vocational routes.Personal care workersWill AI change it?Very littleLevel 1 of 6. AI could take on part of some tasks, but none fully.Teachers' aides · ILO

What you'd do

Teachers' aides · ILO
  • Demonstrating, supervising and participating in activities that enhance the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of children in schools and pre-schools
  • Preparing indoor and outdoor areas for learning and recreational activities
  • Assisting children with intellectual, physical, behavioural and other learning difficulties with their studies
  • Assisting children individually to learn social skills
  • Assisting with preparing teaching materials, and copying and collating written and printed material
  • Operating audio-visual equipment, computers and other teaching aides
  • Distributing and collecting lesson material
Handle children's problemsAssist children in developing personal skillsAttend to children's basic physical needsSupport children's wellbeingSupport the positiveness of youths+ 13 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors and outdoors
  • A mix of sitting and standing
  • Constant contact with people
  • Some freedom to decide
  • Usually 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines now and then
  • Varied tasks, little repetition
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Teaching Assistants, Special Education"

Will there be jobs?

Average prospects

A typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as personal care workers in the EU
5.65m7.08m7.5m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
359,000 new jobs 1,658,000 replacing leavers
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Personal care workers28
All jobs29
Right now
3 of 27 countries report a shortage of teachers' aides, 10 a surplus.
Teachers' aides · EURES

What does it pay?

Below average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €900 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,700 (Luxembourg), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in care of the elderly and of disabled adults is the usual route.

Highest qualification of personal care workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 16%Vocational 49%General secondary 15%Basic schooling 20%
Fields that teach it
Care of the elderly and of disabled adults · Teacher training without subject specialisation
Vocational route, EU
7 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Very little

AI could take on part of some tasks, but none fully.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.24 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Assisting with preparing teaching materials, and copying and collating written and printed material0.54
Operating audio-visual equipment, computers and other teaching aides0.32
Distributing and collecting lesson material0.20
Demonstrating, supervising and participating in activities that enhance the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of children in schools and pre-schools0.18
Preparing indoor and outdoor areas for learning and recreational activities0.17
Assisting children with intellectual, physical, behavioural and other learning difficulties with their studies0.15
Assisting children individually to learn social skills0.14

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for teachers' aides. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).