Like many countries around the world, New Zealand has seen significant changes to teacher supply and demand following the last global financial crisis. We cannot ignore the fact that the teaching market was incredibly competitive from 2011-2015 with many teachers finding it difficult to secure a role. This is no longer the case however, with demand for teachers currently being high.
There were a number of factors that contributed to the low demand for teachers that we saw during and immediately after the GFC. Uncertainty at the time resulted in many teachers choosing to stay in their current roles rather than look for new opportunities. This included teachers who were at or nearing the retirement age who chose to remain in the financial security of their role. At this time, we also had more people graduating as teachers, creating an environment of high supply with low demand.
The last few years however have seen a huge shift in the demand for teachers. The demons of the GFC have been shoved aside and we are seeing high demand for teachers, particularly in Auckland and in STEM subjects nationwide. Demand remains high for te reo-speaking teachers in Māori-medium primary and secondary schools. Additionally, there is a high and ongoing demand for relief teachers.
Roll growth in many schools nationwide is adding to the demand, particularly in New Entrant and Year 7/8 classes. This increased demand is especially notable in Auckland. Education Personnel, with support from the Ministry of Education has been providing recruitment assistance to schools to assist in filling roles in Auckland.
Statistics from the Education Gazette are showing that in May 2017 there were around 400 roles advertised in the secondary sector and more than 350 roles advertised in primary. This is a significant difference to May 2014 where just over 100 roles were advertised in secondary, and a similar number advertised in primary.
Now is a great time to start looking for your first or next teaching role. Even if you have been out of teaching a while there are opportunities available. The negative publicity that teaching saw in 2013/2014 has led to fewer people enrolling in teacher training programmes. The result of this is that we have a situation where we have high demand for teachers, but a relatively low supply. We will also be seeing an increase of older teachers heading into retirement or semi-retirement which is adding to the number of new roles needing to be filled.
Demand for quality teachers is currently high and Education Personnel are actively working with schools all over the country to find and place quality teachers. To find out more about teaching opportunities in the ECE, Primary, or Secondary sector flick us a message or email, or call 0508 TEACHER to speak confidentially with a specialist recruiter.
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