Tap for teacher: app helps school find staff quickly

An Adelaide company has developed an app that helps schools find replacements for relief teachers at short notice.

finder.com.au money expert Michelle Hutchison

Chalk one up

An Adelaide company has developed an app that helps schools find replacements for relief teachers at short notice, saving last-minute phone calls and disorganisation.

The Tap for Teacher app has been developed by teachers.on.net, a national Telstra Business Awards winner.

It sends a request to the smartphones of teachers registered with the particular school in need of a relief teacher, and allows them to tap back immediately to respond. Once the position is filled, the app notifies the other teachers included in the message.

Creator Petrah Harslett says research has found schools are employing part-time staff just to deal with daily staff shortages, and the app will ensure schools do not waste resources.

In the money

Morgan McKinley’s Bonus Survey says 93 per cent of financial services sector professionals received a bonus this financial year.

The analysis compares bonuses across a range of disciplines and found payouts have increased by 41 per cent, with 11 per cent receiving significantly higher bonuses and 30 per cent a higher bonus.

Associate director Dominic Bareham says the rise is due to record profits across major financial services businesses.

The survey found 39 per cent of respondents were satisfied with their payout, but 49 per cent were neutral or dissatisfied. The satisfaction level was higher in asset management, with 67 per cent, and insurance, at 60 per cent, but broking, retail banking, investment banking and wealth management were under 40 per cent.

Arts sector on top

Financial website finder.com.au has found arts and recreational services are the strongest Australian industries to work in, while mining saw the biggest decline in employment during the past two years.

The arts and recreational services recorded 21 per cent growth.

Mining showed a 17 per cent drop in employment, followed by the wholesale trade industry.

The site’s money expert Michelle Hutchison says these findings will help workers better understand the employment landscape.

Torrens degree

The nation’s newest university, Adelaide-based Torrens University Australia, has launched a business degree specialising in management, accounting and finance. The course will begin enrolments in second semester of this year.

The program has been designed in collaboration with industry bodies and is structured to meet the demand for high-quality work-ready graduates.

There will be a focus on global business practices, how business functions internationally and the effects of globalisation on small to medium-sized companies.

Design award

The Australian Psychological Society has named the South Australian Attorney General’s Department as the winner of its organisation design award for this year, for the unit’s ability to use staff from other areas to create a new fines department, without having to recruit from outside.

The annual APS workplace excellence awards celebrate how organisational psychology can transform productivity and business outcomes.

The Mandala Foundation won the recruitment and selection award, Third Horizon took the organisational change gong, and Medibank won the learning and development title.