Occupational Standards

The landscape of vocational education changed when the Department for Education (DfE) introduced a wide range of skills reforms underpinned by the 2022 Skills and Post-16 Education Act. As part of the reforms, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) was established as an ‘arms length body’. IfATE sets the occupational standards for thousands of occupations classified by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The occupation of ‘Yoga Teacher’ has the Standard Occupational Classification 2020 code 3433/03. IfATE-approved Technical Specialist qualifications in Teaching Yoga are based on the level 3 occupational standards that were co-designed by employers and approved by IfATE. The qualifications must also meet the regulatory requirements of Ofqual and, if public funding is sought for students’ tuition, the DfE funding approval criteria must be met.

The British Wheel of Yoga Qualifications (BWYQ) charity went through a one-year rigorous approvals process, with development overseen by IfATE and Ofqual. Student teachers can therefore be confident that they are gaining the knowledge, skills and behaviours that their future employers are demanding.

Knowledge, skills & behaviours

Yoga teacher training needs to cover knowledge of human movement as biomechanics, the basics of anatomy and physiology such as the cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, nervous and endocrine systems and how exercise affects these systems. Knowing how diet, stress, fatigue and other factors can affect one’s lifestyle is important as well as understanding the safety precautions for common conditions like hypertension, obesity, cardiopulmonary disease and diabetes. The training should include knowledge of professional roles and legal responsibilities, risk assessment, safeguarding and, of course, the history, philosophy and fundamental theories of yoga, including hatha yoga, raja yoga, meditation, mantra, the pranic system, pranayama, mudra, bandha and kriyas.