Australian Education Union holds fears for number of unfilled positions, ageing demographic

As the Education Department finalises contracts for 2024, the teachers’ union is concerned about the number of unfilled positions at schools and the ageing demographic in Tasmanian classrooms

Teacher in a classroom.

The teachers’ union is concerned about the number of unfilled positions and the ageing demographic in Tasmania as the Education Department finalises contracts for 2024.

The University of Tasmania expects around 200 students to graduate in the Bachelor of Education and Master of Teaching this year, and for them all to find teaching jobs.

The Australian Education Union and state opposition also are concerned about the number of teachers who are on fixed term and casual contracts rather than being employed permanently.

AEU Tasmanian state manager Brian Wightman said there were around 100 unfilled teacher positions and unfilled principal and senior staff positions were “a growing concern”.

The Australian Education Union say Tasmanian schools and colleges can’t afford to lose teachers. pine rivers press

“Tasmanian schools and colleges can’t afford to lose teachers and other educators in the current staffing crisis, and a lack of permanency is hurting efforts to retain and recruit the people our students need in classrooms,” he said.

“It took stop work action from thousands of educators last year to secure better access to permanency for educators in public schools, a process that is still in development and in many cases yet to be implemented, leaving critical staff insecure and uncertain.

“Teacher shortages force schools to collapse classes and students miss out on the individual attention they need for a quality education.”

Mr Wightman said Tasmania had an ageing number of teachers and data showed that many young teachers leave teaching in the first five years.

“There are jobs for young people in education but we must see wages and conditions that make they want to choose education and, importantly, to stay,” he said.

Mr Wightman said the Victorian Government had good recruitment strategies including free university degrees and bonuses for teachers in rural and regional areas.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People said last month there were 4699 teachers employed in Tasmania.

“Whilst there is a national shortage of teachers and Tasmania faces unique additional challenges due to our size and remoteness, we have been working proactively and operationally to support the provision of teachers in all our schools,” a department spokesperson said.

“Currently 55 graduate teachers have accepted an offer of employment to teach from the UTAS Graduate Teacher Recruitment Campaign 2023 in a Tasmanian government school.

“The balance of contracts will be finalised in coming weeks, ahead of the 2024 school year.”

The spokesperson said there were a range of Tasmanian and national initiatives in place to attract teachers including the existing Teacher Intern Placement Program which provided the opportunity for some UTAS students to undertake their final year of study, based full-time, in a Tasmanian government school.

Interns receive a scholarship to participate in the program and upon successful completion are guaranteed a permanent teaching position upon graduation.

There will also be 50 new scholarships offered next years for students studying teaching at UTAS.

Labor education spokesperson Josh Willie said a Right to Information request showed there were 876 teachers on fixed term contracts.

He said the government should provide more employment security through increased permanency for in-demand roles.

Myff excited for the future

As she begins her teaching career in earnest next year, Myff Smith-Williams wants to leave a lasting and positive impression on her students.

The 23-year-old is in her fifth and final year of a Master of Teaching after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Japanese and performing arts and is excited to be graduating in a few weeks.

Until year 10 she was home schooled.

“Having my mum as my teacher was always very inspiring, but my biggest motivation for wanting to be a teacher is to create positive change,” Ms Smith-Williams said.

“Education is the key. Ask any teacher and they will say the same.”

Myff Smith-Williams who is a pre-service teacher in her first year of classroom teaching without supervision. Teaching needs more younger people interested in choosing it as a career. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

She had aspirations to become a teacher before she went to Ulverstone High School and then Don College.

“I was highly driven in school by the arts, and in college I got the opportunity to study Japanese which ended up being one of my biggest passions, and majors of my undergraduate degree.

“I had some great teachers in the public system.

“Some especially impactful ones in college that I still strive to be like.

“My own teaching pedagogy, and most teachers’ pedagogy is founded in the pedagogy of our favourite teachers from school.”

As well as her mum, she is inspired in her teaching by her older brother and sister in law who are both secondary teachers.

Ms Smith-Williams has been teaching Japanese and drama at local public high school and plans to remain in Hobart for “the foreseeable future”.

“I definitely feel that I have learned a lot during my teaching degree, and its knowledge and skills that are invaluable and easily transferable across all walks of life,” she said.

“I have built up a great network of like-minded educators and peers and want to continue to develop it (here) for a while.”

Originally published as Australian Education Union holds fears for number of unfilled positions, ageing demographic