Labour Market Research – Teachers

TasmaniaApril quarter 2017

Labour Economics Office Tasmania

Department of EmploymentPage 1

Occupations in cluster / Rating
2411-11 / Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teacher / No shortage
2412-13 / Primary School Teacher / No shortage
2414-11
2415 / Secondary School Teacher
Special Education Teachers / Regional recruitment difficulty
No shortage

Key issues

  • In Tasmania, recent research indicates employers in regional areas are experiencing difficulties recruiting for secondary school teachers in the subject areas of maths and science.
  • Current research also indicates there is no shortage of early childhood, primary or special education teachers in Tasmania, with the majority of employers filling vacancies with suitable applicants.
  • The proportion of surveyed vacancies filled in 2016-17 was 90 per cent which is slightly lower than the previous six years.

Survey results

  • In this year’s survey of employers who have recently advertised for school teachers, 90 per cent of vacancies were filled within six weeks of advertising. This is lower than the fill rate of 94 per cent in the previous year and is the lowest rate since 2009-10.
  • The fill rate for metropolitan vacancies(94 per cent) is higher than regional vacancies (88 per cent).
  • In 2016-17, both the number of applicants per vacancy and the suitable applicants per vacancy were lower than in 2015-16.
  • The number of applicants per vacancy declined to 5.7 in 2016-17 from 7.5 in 2015-16, after a high of 10.1 in 2014-15.
  • The number of qualified applicants per vacancy decreased from 6.2 in 2015-16 to 4.6in this survey period.
  • In 2016-17 there were 1.3 suitable applicants per vacancy compared to 3.6 in 2015-16.
  • The fill rate for early childhood teachers rose to 91 per cent in 2016-17 from 67 per cent in 2015-16, while all primary school and special education teacher vacancies surveyed were filled for the second year in a row. For secondary school teachers the fill rate fell from 100 per cent in 2015-16 to 73 per cent in 2016-17.
  • The majority of unfilled vacancies were for secondary school teachers in the subject areas of maths and science, located in regional areas in Tasmania.

Figure 1: Proportion of vacancies filled (%), average number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy (no.), School Teachers, Tasmania, 2007-08 to 2016-17

Source: Department of Employment, Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised

Note: Occupational coverage varies over time series.

Unsuitable applicants

  • The most common reason cited by employers for the unsuitability of applicants were they did not hold the required qualification and had insufficient relevant experience teaching in a specific subject area.
  • Other reasons cited by employers for unsuitability of applicants included lack of experience in curriculum planning, leadership and staff supervision, or the inability to demonstrate knowledge, or the personal and/or professional qualities to fit the culture of the school.

Demand and supply trends

  • Demand for early childhood teachers in Tasmania has been mixed.
  • The number of children in the four to eight-year age group grew by almost 3.0 per cent over the five years to June 2016.[1]However; the number of children attending a long day care service in Tasmania decreased by 4.8 per cent over the five years to June 2016, while the number of long day care centres operating within the state increased by 3.5 per cent over the same period.[2]
  • Primary and secondary school teachers have both experienced a decrease in demand.
  • In Tasmania, the number of children in the 9 to 12-year age group decreased by almost 2.6 per cent over the five years to June 2016, while the number of children in the 13 to 17 year age group decreased by 4.8 per cent over the same period.[3] Additionally, the number of students in secondary and senior secondary public schools has been declining over the last few years and decreased by almost 2.5 per cent over the year to August 2015.[4]
  • Special education teachers have shown the strongest growth among the teaching occupations in recent years.
  • The number of children attending special schools in Tasmania has increased by almost 9.4 per cent over the five years between August 2010 and August 2015. Additionally, the number of children with a disability attending mainstream state schools has increased by 6.3 per cent between 2013 and 2015.[5]
  • Overall, the number of FTE teaching staff in Tasmanian secondary schools declined, while FTE teaching staff in primary schools increased slightly.
  • Secondary school FTE teaching staff decreased by 7.0 per cent from 2011 to 2016. The decrease is mainly attributed to government secondary school teaching staff, with Catholic and Independent secondary school FTE teaching staff both increasing marginally over this period.
  • Primary schoolFTE teaching staff increased by 3.8 per cent from 2015 to 2016, however only increased slightly from 2011 to 2016, with an increase of 0.5 per cent.[6]
  • People seeking a career as a teacher in Tasmania must secure registration, provisional registration or a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) from the Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania (TRB).
  • In November 2015, there were 11,529 individuals registered in Tasmania overall, which represents a 4.9 per cent increase on the number registered in November 2011.
  • There were 393 individuals granted LATs in the 2015 calendar year which is a decrease of almost 27.0 per cent when compared to the number granted in 2011.[7]
  • Data from the Department of Education and Training indicates the number of domestic students completing general courses for initial teacher training at Tasmanian university campuses was around 323 in 2015, increasing from 267 recorded the year before. Student commencements in 2015 were at 511, decreasing from 655 recorded the year before.[8]

Other indicators and issues

  • The Tasmanian State Government’s Years 11 and 12 Extension Program is aimed at encouraging more young Tasmanians to complete Year 12. Total funding of $45.5 million has been provided to extend secondary schools to Years 11 and 12 in rural, regional and urban communities by 2018. In 2015, the first six schools started providing Years 11 and 12 programs with another six in 2016 and a further 18 expected for 2017.[9]
  • In August 2015, the Tasmanian State Government Ministerial Taskforce Report Improved Support for Students with Disability was released. In 2016, the State Government announced the Inclusion Advisory Panel – Disability Focus would oversee the implementation of the Ministerial Taskforce recommendations across all education sectors within the context of the national and state agenda for students with disability. This will be supported by an additional $12 million allocation over four years to assist all Government schools to be disability ready and responsive. Work has started on implementing the first three Taskforce recommendations:
  • Provision of access to Family Partnership Training to assist school communities to work together effectively.
  • Provision of incentives and scholarships to increase the number of teachers and teacher aides with formal inclusive education qualifications.
  • Provision of practice models for support staff and classroom teachers to work more effectively together to improve student learning.[10]

Labour Economics Office Tasmania

Department of EmploymentPage 1

[1]ABS, Australian Demographic Statistics, Tasmania (Cat No. 3101), Jun 2016

[2] Department of Education and Training,Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care, Child Care Update, June quarter 2011 and Early Childhood and Child Care in Summary, June quarter 2016

[3]ABS, Australian Demographic Statistics, Tasmania (Cat No. 3101), Jun 2016

[4]Tasmanian Department of Education, Annual Report 2014/15 and Annual Report 2015/16

[5] Tasmanian Department of Education, Annual Report 2010/2011, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016

[6]Australian Bureau of Statistics, Schools Australia, catalogue 4221.0, 2001-2016

[7]Teachers Registration Board, Annual Report 2011 and Annual Report 2015

[8] Department of Education and Training, Higher Education Student Statistics Data Cube, 2015, Domestic Students

[9]Tasmanian Department of Education, Annual Report 2015/16

[10] , Media Release, Funding for Students with Disability gets a $4.09m boost, 8 June 2016