Queensland to lure teachers from New Zealand and interstate

As schools cry out for more teachers, a new scheme to retrain tradies as teachers has an eye-watering price tag.

Queensland wants to lure teachers from New Zealand to work in the Sunshine State. Picture: istock

Queensland is planning a recruitment raid on schools in other states and New Zealand, after ­revealing the eye-watering cost of retraining tradies as teachers.

As all states and territories grapple with a crippling shortage of classroom teachers, Queensland is preparing to poach teachers from interstate and overseas.

New data shows that Queensland has spent $20m to help 300 professionals with university degrees – such as lawyers, accountants and technology workers – retrain as teachers through its Turn to Teaching internship program, at a cost of $63,000 each.

Its Trade to Teach internship program has cost $9.9m to retrain 30 tradies as high school teachers specialising in industrial technologies and design – previously known as woodwork and metalwork – at a cost of $330,000 for every new teacher.

Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace revealed on Tuesday that her department spent $75,000 to recruit 77 teachers from other states to work in Queensland schools last year.

In response to a question on notice in state parliament, Ms Grace said she planned to lure more teachers to the Sunshine State this year.

“The department is currently progressing the development of a new teacher recruitment campaign focused on attracting teachers from interstate and New Zealand to Queensland state schools,’’ she said in her written ­response.

“It is anticipated that this ­campaign will be in market later this year.’’

Queensland’s poaching project comes after the new Labor government in NSW canned a $14m recruitment drive that managed to lure only 11 teachers from other states last year.

NSW Education Minister Prue Car said her government was committed to lifting pay and conditions for all teachers in NSW, which was “critical for retention’’.

“Already, we have reduced the admin burden for teachers, and we are converting thousands of temporary teachers to permanent ­positions,’’ she said.

The federal Education Department estimated in 2021 that Australia would be short of 4100 teachers by 2025.

However, it expects the shortage will be even higher after the pandemic prompted more teachers to quit, retire or work part-time, while some states stood down teachers who refused to have a Covid-19 vaccination.

The latest Australian Institute of Teaching and Learning workforce survey found that one in three teachers was planning to quit before retirement age, citing “workload and coping’’.

Australian Teacher Workforce Data released by the federal government shows that half the university students who enrol in teaching degrees are dropping out of their courses.

It also reveals that a quarter of high school teachers are not ­properly qualified to teach certain subjects.

In maths, one in five teachers had not studied any mathematics at university, while 14 per cent had studied only some maths.

Among English teachers, 16 per cent said they had not studied the subject at university, while 15 per cent of science teachers and 32 per cent of technology teachers had not specialised in their field of teaching.