A recent report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Future of jobs commission underlined the pressing need to build better bridges between education and the world of work. The feedback from schools and recruitment experts in the education sector is that teacher shortages in key disciplines are intensifying.
The REC’s Jobs Outlook report – which tracks future demand for staff across all sectors – showed education as the top job function where employers expect a shortage of appropriate candidates for temporary assignments (i.e. supply teaching).
The REC highlighted the need for inclusion and diversity to be embraced as a way of ensuring that employers are accessing the best talent they need, and this is particularly relevant to the education sector.
Attracting teachers from all backgrounds (including older teachers), as well as retaining staff, must be part of the solution. Government initiatives such as Disability Confident can provide additional support for schools looking to reach out to under-represented groups as a means of addressing shortage areas.
Source: Education Business