Mid-career Teachers
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday February 6, 2008
Career-change programs are helping people from a range of professions and industries try their hand at teaching.
With the NSW school year starting last week, news reports highlighted the shortage of teachers and the prospect of declining numbers in the future. The Australian Education Union said the teaching workforce was ageing, largely due to poor pay and large class sizes, which were keeping away new teachers.The NSW Teachers Federation estimates 40 per cent of the state's teachers are due to retire over the next six years. The union is calling on the Federal Government to increase annual funding to public schools by $2.9 billion.One of the results of this trend is for existing teachers to take subjects outside their areas of expertise, something unions say masks the extent of the shortage.Programs targeting people in the middle of their working lives in other sectors and encouraging them to become teachers could help address the problem and bring outside experience into the classroom.The NSW Government aims to attract experienced professionals by paying the course fees for participants enrolled in the accelerated teacher training program at Charles Sturt University in Wagga. The 18-month program is aimed at people with qualifications and industry knowledge in food technology, agriculture and mathematics. There is a one-off training allowance of $1500, but no salary. People accepting sponsored positions in the accelerated teacher training program are required to teach in areas of staffing need, such as western and south-western Sydney and regional areas.While some may dismiss these as temporary solutions, career change programs draw in mature people who are likely to stay in their new profession.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald