Probationer jobs - information on current difficulties

The GTC Scotland is well aware of the difficulties many probationers currently face in finding employment. Below we answer some frequently asked questions regarding this situation.

What does the GTC Scotland think of the difficulty probationer teachers face in finding full time employment?

We are well aware that the recent figures relating to teacher employment are of concern. The GTC Scotland shares these concerns and we have already discussed them with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament; and will continue to do so where appropriate.

Despite these difficulties, however, medium and longer term prospects for teachers are good. Very many teachers are now reaching the end of their careers and there will, as a result, be a significant change in the staffing of most of our schools over the next few years. In 2009 and in the years that follow, this demographic trend will lead to the availability of increasing numbers of jobs. Consequently, we really will need all of the teachers who are currently looking for jobs, and many more, to fill these posts.

What is the GTC Scotland doing to help the situation and get more jobs for newly qualified teachers?

The GTC Scotland is the regulatory body for the teaching profession and our remit is to maintain the register of teachers entitled to teach in Scotland. We set standards for the teaching profession and work hard to maintain and improve these standards by accrediting the quality of work undertaken by teachers in their probation period and, subsequently, at various other points in their careers.

While we have a very keen interest in the employment of all teachers and in particular newly-qualified teachers, we do not have any direct role in their employment. This is a matter for local authorities and the Scottish Government; and we will continue to work with partners in central and local government to see if better solutions can be found. In addition, we will, as already stated, continue to raise these issues with the Scottish Government on behalf of teachers on our register.

What is your advice to newly qualified teachers looking for work?

We fully recognise that teachers looking for their first full-time job can become anxious if they do not achieve this within the first few months of their career. Our advice is to take a longer view of securing a post, as this situation is quite common both in teaching and in other professions. Instead, our advice would be to build up as much service as possible and to establish credibility as a good teacher with headteachers and employers.

We suggest that teachers should be aware of where and how each authority advertises posts; and should register for (and undertake wherever possible) supply work and short term contracts. Each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland advertises and manages vacancies for teachers as they arise. Normally, posts can be accessed through Council websites, through newspapers and, increasingly, through the local authority recruitment portal: www.myjobscotland.gov.uk.

Having registered with a local authority, it is also worth informing schools of availability as decisions about employment are often devolved to schools. Our advice is to look outwith the local area and to register interest also with surrounding authorities- sometimes there may be posts just a few miles away in another authority or school.

The main employment season for new, permanent posts starts this year in early March when all authorities begin to advertise permanent posts for the following session. It is worth being well prepared for this by getting applications forms ready in advance- these are generally available on Council websites. However, posts can, and do, also appear at other times of year. In particular, some posts will become available towards the end of the school session (e.g. May) and again at the start of the new school year (August).

While there may be a limited number of appointments available at the start of a session, this number will always rise later in the school year. Similarly, although the proportion of new teachers in full-time employment at the start of a session is, at times, disappointing, this will certainly increase in the course of the session; and many of those teachers who have temporary contracts in one session will be able to gain permanent status in due course. (Indeed, all authorities are required to have an agreement with their teacher unions on what level of service will grant an entitlement to permanent status.)

For more information, please contact:.

Help GTC Scotland to keep track of probationer teacher employment trends in 2009:

Each year GTCS conducts a survey of teachers in the autumn following their Induction year to discover how many of them have obtained employment. This information is shared with our partners to inform the work of the Workforce Planning Group convened by the Scottish Government.

We encourage you to look out for the arrival of the survey form in September and to return it to GTCS, so that our figures are as complete as possible.

Please help us to monitor trends in employment of probationer teachers.

(added 22 January 2009)