News Corp analysis reveals alarming job vacancies for teachers

Thousands of Australian kids have started the new school year without qualified teachers in core subjects. See why and where the vacancies are.

Thousands of Australian children have started the new school year without qualified teachers in core subjects.

A News Corp analysis of national job adverts found that more than half were vacancies for maths, science and English teachers.

There are no official national figures available for teacher vacancies, but our snapshot incorporates data from government job sites for public schools, as well as a recruitment site for Catholic and independent schools.

Of the 1218 jobs we were able to find on February 6 and 7, 230 were for maths teachers, 221 for science and 263 for English. Some adverts required teachers who were qualified in more than one specialised area.

More than one in 10 jobs – or 135 positions – were for principals, or assistant or deputy principals.

The shortages, particularly in maths and science, mean teachers are being asked to take classes in subjects they are not qualified in.

While our snapshot of vacancies on February 6 and 7 showed at least 1225 jobs, experts believe there are hundreds more vacancies across the country.

The latest Australian Teacher Workforce Data shows up to 40 per cent of maths teachers, 29 per cent of science teachers and 28 per cent of English teachers are not qualified in the subject they are teaching.

The shortages mean teachers are being asked to take classes in subjects they are not qualified in.

In humanities – which includes geography, history, physical education and economics – up to 36 per cent of teachers have no specialist training in those fields.

Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute director Professor Tim Marchant said the shortage of maths teachers is becoming “acute”.

And with fewer Year 12 students choosing higher level maths and fewer people studying the subject at university, Prof Marchant said it looks set to get worse, not better.

He said the losers are the current cohort of schoolkids.

“Each generation of students deserves teachers that have been trained in the field,” Prof Marchant said.

Executive director Jacinta Collins says National Catholic Education is providing ongoing mentoring to give early career teachers the best start.

He said the issue has been exacerbated by competition for maths graduates, with potential maths teachers being lured into data science jobs due to lucrative starting salaries of between $100,000-$200,000.

The starting salary for a graduate teacher in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, is $74-75,000.

Deakin University Associate Professor Linda Hobbs warns the large number of teachers working in roles they have not been trained in can “have an impact on the quality of the learning”.

In a report Assoc Prof Hobbs helped produce last year, she said it was “like expecting dentists to meet the shortfall in country doctors”.

She said rural, remote and low socio-economic schools are suffering the most.

“The priority is to get more teachers, full stop,” Assoc Prof Hobbs said.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership deputy chief executive Edmund Mission, helped produce the Australian Teacher Workforce Data.

He said the lack of qualified teachers in maths and science could be one of the reasons why Australia is slipping in the international education rankings.

Education Minister Jason Clare says the teacher shortage crisis needs to be addressed. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brendan Read

Mr Mission said innovative ideas to help plug the gap include getting expert maths teachers to teach by video conferencing, with a teacher in the classroom to back it up.

He also said while there is a need to encourage more people into the industry, retention is also an issue with one in five teachers thinking of leaving before retirement.

Teacher shortages are also evident in the independent and Catholic sector too.

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said it is providing “better practical placement and ongoing mentoring to give the best start to prospective and early career teachers”.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said there is a teacher shortage crisis across the country.

“We’ve got to turn this around,” Mr Clare said.

“The National Teacher Workforce Action Plan that Education Ministers signed off in December, includes crucial initiatives, like funding for more university places and scholarships worth up to $40,000 to attract more teachers.”

Originally published as News Corp analysis reveals alarming job vacancies for teachers