Secondary schools in New Zealand are struggling to fill teaching positions especially in science and technology.
Some schools have resorted to recruiting directly from overseas. David Hodge, headmaster of Rangitoto College, Auckland has just returned to New Zealand after a whistle-stop recruitment session in Britain, completing 26 interviews in eight days in five cities in England and Scotland.
Hodge told the New Zealand Herald that his school usually recruited local teachers, but in subjects such as technology and physics there were not enough New Zealand teachers to meet demand. Rangitoto College advertised three times to fill a vacancy for a technology teacher, without success. “In many cases we won’t get any applicants.”
Hodge said he visited the UK each year to fill the gaps, and he’s not the only one. On his last trip he interviewed a technology teacher who had a job offer from Auckland Grammar School.
“It’s bizarre. We are over there and we are competing with schools in New Zealand for the same people.”
The 2008 New Zealand Teachers Association staffing report released earlier this year found the greatest demand was for English teachers, followed by technology and maths. The report found about three-quarters of advertised jobs weren’t filled because only one person applied. Sometimes there were no replies.
New Zealand schools are using five times as many overseas teachers as they did in 1999.
SOURCE: www.byebyeblighty.com