Teacher drought expected as educators join jobless queue
Victorian schools may be hit with a teacher shortage within months as hundreds of relief educators flee the state over coronavirus, while thousands of teachers are already out of work as schools move to remote learning.
Education
Don't miss out on the headlines from Education. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A teacher drought may hit Victoria within months as relief educators flee the state due to coronavirus.
Hundreds of international teachers desperately needed before the pandemic have already left Victoria after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on those with visitor visas to go home.
It comes as thousands of Victorian relief teachers are currently out of work due to remote learning at a time permanent staff are fighting to keep up.
Tradewind manager George Richards said 200 of his international teachers had already gone home to the UK, Canada and NZ.
“When we come to term 3 there’s going to be a dramatic shortage of teachers at a time there will be a spike in demand,” he said.
“We feel teachers are going to be mentally exhausted but there’s not going to be the (relief) teachers there.”
Standby staff manager Trish Murley said “there will be a drought”.
The Herald Sun spoke with six agencies representing 6000 Victorian relief teachers — almost all of them were out of work.
Ms Murley said she’d usually have 120 teachers in schools each week.
“We’ve had not one single booking — this time last year you’d be absolutely flat chat.”
Staffing Organisation Services director Noel Sheehan said they typically took bookings for 125 schools through the term but “we’ve had calls from four schools”.
“We have teachers ringing in every day, ‘Is anything happening?’” he said.
His agency is setting up a tutoring platform so its 330 teachers can assist students one-on-one.
Carmelina Di Guglielmo, a relief teacher now out of work, has been supplying neighbours and friends with worksheets because their kids have been running out of tasks from school.
She went to Officeworks on Wednesday to copy more sheets after delivering bundles to students.
“It’s giving me a purpose,” she said.
Ms Guglielmo lost work as a part-time actor, along with teaching jobs.
“I’ve even heard some schools are thinking they won’t be able to afford CRTs for the rest of the year because they’re updating skills.”
Agencies have struggled to get teachers paid through the Federal Jobkeeper support package because many do not qualify.
Staff must have worked with a company for 40 days from March 1, but many CRTs work with multiple agencies or seek work directly with schools.
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said “there has always been money in the (schools’) budget allocated to relief teachers”.
“We encourage all schools to proactively support CRTs and utilise these valued members of the school community however they can to ensure they remain in the industry during this challenging time,” she said.
Education minister James Merlino said he was “confident” Victorian schools would continue to have an adequate supply of teachers.
“We’re supporting casual staff employed by school councils — including casual relief teachers — who are out of work or who have had their hours significantly reduced, and I encourage private CRT agencies to support their employees through this difficult time,” he said.
Government compensation arrangements for casual school staff do not apply to CRTs employed through an agency.
VICTORY FOR STOOD DOWN TEACHERS