Quality teachers hard to find, says integrated schools boss

Writing in Kōtui – School and Policy Updates, Kevin Shore stated that there is a tight market for good teachers.

“It is disappointing to hear that many schools started the new year with vacant positions and the continuing challenge for some of our proprietors and schools is attracting teachers who can be tagged into special character positions,” Dr Shore wrote.

“This is a challenge in our Catholic schools, and one we are going to have to grapple with and address if we are to maintain and preserve our special character and our unique identity.”

Dr Shore wrote that APIS had met with Anna Welanyk, a senior official in the Ministry of Education’s workforce division, to discuss teacher supply. The Ministry of Education had apologised to the state sector for some errors in their projections for 2023/24 which were at odds with what school leaders were experiencing at the coal face, Dr Shore said.

“Anna talked to what the [ministry] had done to strengthen their systems and improve the accuracy of their projections,” he wrote.

“She was able to debunk the current myth that students are not entering tertiary teacher training, with current data indicating there has been a 10 per cent increase in students undertaking teacher training in 2025 after a 25 per cent drop through COVID, which was replicated across all university courses.”

There has been an increase in interest from international teachers looking to move to New Zealand from the United States and Europe. International primary teachers are also gaining a new immigration pathway into teaching in New Zealand.

The ministry is also seeing interest from a significant group looking to return to teaching, Dr Shore said, describing these developments as “good news”, but noting that Catholic schools are still seeing challenges.

FULL STORY

NZCEO eNewsletter (Kōtui– School Policy and Updates)