$9 million package to build teacher workforce   19 Aug 2016

Hon Hekia Parata
Minister of Education

19 August 2016

$9 million package to build teacher workforce

Education Minister Hekia Parata has today announced several initiatives to boost the number of teachers in high-demand subjects and locations.

“Right now we have enough overall numbers of teachers, but not necessarily in the areas or subjects that we need them in,” says Ms Parata. “That’s why we’re investing more than $9 million over four years to address teacher supply pressures.

“The Government will offer an extra 100 Teach NZ Scholarships worth $1.8 million per year for science, technology and maths (STM) subjects to lift the number of graduates in these areas by the end of 2017. These scholarships have a proven track record of quickly boosting supply in particular subject areas.

“We will also invest nearly $1 million in an Auckland programme to employ 40 new teachers through to full registration. The programme, developed with the Auckland Primary Principals Association, is an important step in ensuring new teacher graduates are employed and retained in the profession, and the pipeline of teacher supply is secured.

“We’ve been working with principals and sector groups to identify solutions to teacher supply. These include both national and international recruitment options. We will now expand our investment in these recruitment campaigns from $220,000 to about $1 million and we’re launching a new recruitment campaign focused on bringing Kiwi teachers back home.

“To support our recruitment of STM teachers we will, for the first time, invest in promoting teaching as a career to tertiary STM students. This will begin immediately, in time to reach those completing their qualifications this year and thinking about their next steps,” says Ms Parata.

In addition, the Education Council has announced it is pulling together a working group to consider whether aspects of the Teacher Education Refresh programme need adjusting to meet the needs of teachers keen to return to teaching while still working towards a full practicing certificate.

“While there is no one silver bullet, these initiatives will help to ease pressure,” says Ms Parata.

“Communities of Learning have the potential for schools to work together on recruiting teachers, instead of competing against each other, and provide new opportunities for existing teachers that strengthen the overall workforce. But for now, we continue to work at an individual school level.

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