Teacher shortage easing but how it's easing is concerning

The survey of secondary principals around the motu, carried out in March this year, found that for 60 percent of both classroom teaching and leadership roles, there was no potential choice of suitable applicants because there were either no suitable applicants at all or only one.

“The secondary teacher shortage may appear to be easing because more positions are able to be filled, but there are significant concerns about how those positions are being filled,” says Chris Abercrombie, president of PPTA Te Wehengarua.

“We need a healthy, constant supply of trained and qualified teachers for our workforce, that gives schools assurances that they have truly appointed the best person to the role. Having to appoint someone because they are the only applicant is concerning.

“The staffing challenge for schools seems to be shifting from a crisis of availability to one of suitability.”

Steve McCracken, chair of the Secondary Principals’ Council, said the survey results highlighted the need for secondary teaching to be valued more in Aotearoa New Zealand. “Equipping young people with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the future and live their best lives is one of the most important jobs in the world. We need to work together to make secondary teaching a career that people aspire to get into and where vacancies are vied for by hundreds of great candidates.”

The survey results show that the proportion of applicants who are considered suitable has declined, particularly for New Zealand applications, with only 49 percent of domestic applicants considered suitable this year, compared with 66 percent last year.  This could be a one off, or it could be a worrying new trend.

The suitability rate for overseas applicants has fallen from nine percent last year to seven percent this year – the second lowest level since the survey began 30 years ago.

Schools’ reliance on holders of a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) is also higher than at any time during the past three years – a dire time for secondary teacher supply – and is at levels not seen since 2003.

Chris Abercrombie said this was a significant worry, given the once in a generation changes to curriculum and assessment that schools were embarking on. “During times of such momentous change, we need a workforce grounded in subject knowledge and skilled in all aspects of teaching.

“We urge the Government to give young New Zealanders the secondary education they deserve. Invest properly in our workforce to ensure there is a healthy supply of suitable candidates for all teaching positions.”