The number of vacancies in primary education is rising rapidly
Primary education is looking hard for teachers: in the first three months of this year the number of vacancies rose by 37 percent compared to a year earlier.
Image: Joelle Poortvliet /Algemene Onderwijsbond
Research agency Ecorys reports this on its own website. This company, together with Dialogic consultancy, carries out the labor market barometer from.
Considerably higher
The increase in the number of vacancies in primary education is, at 37 percent, considerably higher than in the other education sectors. In secondary education, the number of vacancies rose by 11 percent and in MBO by 15 percent. According to the Ecorys researchers, the number of vacancies has been rising faster in primary education for a year and a half than in the other sectors.
It is increasingly difficult for primary school boards to fill vacancies. Last year, 16 percent of the vacancies remained unfilled for at least three months. This school year that percentage will rise to 22 percent. In secondary education and MBO it is 7 percent and 8 percent less often that vacancies are unfilled for three months. More than half of the schools indicate that there are often too few candidates for the vacancy. A quarter say that applicants do not have the right experience.
More often fixed
However, schools often offer permanent contracts. Last year, 7 percent of new teachers were immediately employed on a permanent basis, this year that number has risen to 13 percent. 'By offering permanent employment, schools may try to retain teachers for a longer period of time,' says Ecorys. The research agency bases itself, among other things, on figures from the largest vacancy websites for education and on the vacancies at schools themselves.
The Education Inspectorate concluded last month that the quality of education is under pressure due to the teacher shortage. AObchair Liesbeth Verheggen explains that, among other things, a substantial salary increase is needed in primary education, see: 'Teacher shortage puts improvement in educational quality under pressure'.
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If this is the time for you to choose a different school, read: Ten application tips to land your dream job.
