After graduating from university, Luke Higgins was lucky enough to get his first teaching post at Oak Flats Public School - the same school he attended as a student. It was a great experience for 18 months, yet Higgins was a man consumed by wanderlust.

At the age of 23, he left the security of home and travelled to the United Kingdom to pick up teaching work in central London primary schools.

With an English-born father, Higgins was eligible for a British passport, meaning he would not be restricted in his length of stay by a visa.

"The longevity was something that made me come to the UK and do a bit of travel and use my teaching as a means to an end," he said.

"But it's become so much more than that. It's been the best career move and I've grown so much as a person."

The move to London was six years ago and Higgins, 30, has not come home - yet.

He got his start through a London-based teacher recruitment agency named Vibe, which was set up in 2001 by two education graduates from the University of Wollongong (UOW).

Higgins ended up staying to help run the company. Half of Vibe's management team, including Higgins, were educated at UOW.

In the past 13 years, Vibe has grown to be one of the biggest teacher agencies in London, with 300-plus schools and more than 1000 teachers (called candidates) on their books.

"We have a very strong affiliation with the UOW and catch up in person at an annual alumni event in London," he said.

"We have a big community of UOW graduates working through Vibe.

"Our roots are in Wollongong and we hold these teachers very dear to our hearts."

When Higgins landed in London in 2008, he was well supported through his brother and sister, who were living there at the time.

"Within a week I was part of a rugby club through my brother and I had a lot of mates, but we get a lot of teachers who come over and need some help settling in," he said.

"They are trying to adjust to a new school system and there's a lot going on for them so we try and develop a sense of community around them, to make sure the transition is as seamless as possible."

Higgins said when he first started teaching in London he was amazed at the multicultural nature of the schools, as well as the diversity of student needs.

"It was very different to what I had experienced at home and those new experiences are fantastic for a teacher's growth and development," he said. "You come a long way."

Higgins was not studying at the UOW at the same time as the men who founded Vibe, Paul Harris, now managing director, and Todd Richardson, who has since moved on from the company. Yet he was introduced to manager Craig Jones in London by a mutual friend.

"We were halfway through a beer when we realised we already had a heap of connections in Wollongong," recalls Higgins of the first meeting with Jones.

"Craig told me he had studied there and it was nice to have that touch of home and that really drew me to the company knowing it was founded by UOW graduates.

"After a month of hooking up with Vibe, I became a consultant for them but I kept doing a lot of teaching in schools because our motto is teachers placing teachers."

Higgins worked his way up through the company. Within 12 months, he was awarded a team leader position and then he was on the management team.

In the past 18 months, he has joined the board of directors and started working as a candidate services director.

Higgins said the UK demand for Australian teachers was always high due to their strong educational background and ability to adapt to different teaching situations.

There is part-time work and full-time placements through the agency for primary and secondary school teachers and those specialising in special needs education.

"There is plenty of work here," he said during a phone interview from London.

"I know the challenge for a graduate first coming out is getting their foot in the door and here there is an opportunity to work as much as you want and then it's fantastic to have that professional experience on your CV.

"For someone coming over they can open themselves up to a brand new set of skills and curriculum which is different to Australia.

"There are a lot of professional development benefits.

"London experience strengthens a teacher's profile and gives added depth to any application they submit for future jobs.

"A reference from a head teacher in London is an excellent selling point for a teacher coming from the South Coast."

The experience of leaving home and working abroad was also beneficial for personal development, he said.

"It pushes you outside your comfort zone and you learn a lot about yourself," he said.

"I did it when I was 23 and it was the best thing I could have done and as a teacher and professional - you just learn so much.

"There are so many opportunities here that, if you're qualified, all you've got to do is get on the plane and once you get here, there is work for you every day."

Higgins said there was no preferred time of the year to arrive in London for those looking for work but to keep in mind the long summer holidays run from mid-July to the start of September.

"'We'd always encourage the teacher to give themselves as much time as possible in the lead-up to starting, so at least give two to three months," he said.

"I think a consideration is that the terms are different in London so the school year starts in September. If you were a teacher, depending on whether you wanted to use that July-August break for a bit of travel, then you might come over at the beginning of the school year so that you've got work for that whole period.

"It's quite common for Australian and New Zealand candidates to finish up around December, whether they are doing a course or have just finished a degree, to come over in January and teach for half a year and go from there.

"But there's plenty of work around and if you came any time in the school year, you shouldn't be out of work."

Higgins said the Vibe agency really tried to make a positive difference in the lives of the teachers it placed in the workforce, achieving that by creating a sense of community and through practical support.

"Because we are teachers placing teachers, candidates can expect pretty much for any school they go to someone in our team would have taught there and most likely even been on the class, so we give a lot of support and guidance in that respect, setting them up with all the tools and knowledge to have a successful day or a block of work," he said.

Higgins also run a weekly induction workshop for each new influx of teachers.

"We invite them along and put on a few drinks and we do a general presentation but we do try and calm the nerves a bit and introduce them to some of our consultants and talk about some of the differences in the curriculum and what to expect," he said.

Candidates can also access online resources.

"Within our team we have a staff of 50 and they are all teachers, so I would say between us we probably have 300 years of teaching experience and we just impart that knowledge as much as we can," he said.

Higgins said he is settled within Vibe and could see himself with the company for many years.

"There is room for further growth in London and in the UK. Our why is all about inspiring better education and daily, as a team, we always look at that and ensure we are inspiring one another and that we are making a difference too, because that's what we take from the job.

"I've been here for six years and Paul [Harris] has been in it for 13 years. It's the many candidates that we get a fantastic testimonial from after two years that really makes us get up in the morning and go to work. I love it."

Higgins' parents, Nick and Chris, have visited London a few times to see their son, and were even persuaded to see the London school system first-hand.

"My parents came over for three months last year and my mum's a teacher so I placed her three days a week in a London school and she loved the experience," he said.

"I wouldn't let dad sit around either. He is very good with juveniles and challenging students, having worked as a youth services manager, so I set him up as an aide and put him with some challenging kids. He came away with some great stories and experiences."

For more information on a career in London, Higgins can be contacted at luke.higgins@vibeteaching.co.uk.