A recent survey revealed that, driven by factors such as lack of accommodation and job dissatisfaction, 50% of junior teachers are contemplating exiting Ireland to seek teaching positions overseas. The report emerges just as teaching unions are gearing up for their yearly conventions this week, anticipated to be dominated by strategies to address what is termed a recruitment and retention emergency.
The poll conducted by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) found that 51% of members employed over the past ten years are considering a teaching career overseas. The online poll, done last month, had 736 respondents.
In addition to their disenchantment with their current positions in Ireland, the opportunity for financial savings and the ongoing accommodation crisis were listed as the top 3 reasons. The survey also found that just 35% of newly entered professionals received regular hours contracts upon getting hired, with a mere 12% offered a permanent role at appointment.
In response to staff shortages, TUI has proposed a series of solutions including assigning teachers to full-time roles upon hiring, reinstating previously paid allowances, enhancing career progression opportunities and bestowing full recognition to overseas teaching experiences for those wishing to reenter the Irish education system.
TUI President David Waters commented that the struggle to recruit and retain teachers is not unique to Ireland. He cautioned that without suitable incentives, other educational systems will poach Ireland’s highly skilled graduates worsening the crisis. He stressed the need for immediate, constructive action instead of temporary solutions to keep teachers in classrooms.
To entice graduates to pick Ireland over other nations, TUI suggests school should be allowed additional staffing provisions to provide secure, full-time jobs. The union also believes reducing the duration of the two-year professional master of education (PME) qualification, a replacement for the old ‘Hdip’ certification, should also be seriously evaluated.
Addressing all three teachers’ conferences happening this week, Education Minister Norma Foley stated that the majority of approved teaching positions have been filled. She added that the resignation and retirement rate among teachers is at a minimum.
The latest budget has earmarked measures to alleviate the cost of PME by €2,000. Furthermore, an additional 1,000 middle-management roles are set to be introduced into the schooling system for the academic year 2024-25.
Foley indicated that teaching continues to be a desirable career pathway, specifying that the beginning salary for primary level teachers has been over €41,000, and above €42,000 for secondary level teachers since last October. Such figures are a result of the extension to the public sector pay deal, with more increments expected under the new public sector agreement.
The Teaching Council saw a registration of over 3,700 new teachers last year, bringing the total number of teachers on their registry to an all-time high of 122,000.
Three teaching union conferences are set to take place this week. The INTO conference started on Monday in Derry, while the annual meetings of TUI and ASTI are due to commence on Tuesday in Wexford and Killarney respectively.
INTO will be discussing the possibility of an allowance, comparable to the London weighting allowance, to counteract the higher living expenses in cities. Their members suggest such an initiative could mitigate exorbitant housing costs. However, this proposal is not gaining traction among other teaching unions, citing equitable implementation as a challenge.
ASTI and TUI, on the other hand, will deliberate about the recognition of overseas teaching experiences at secondary level schools in determining the starting salaries of teachers.