Tackling teacher shortages is not very effective
Minister Arie Slob (ChristenUnie) sees that his measures to combat the teacher shortage are starting to bear fruit, he told the Lower House during a debate last week. The Education Magazine listed the measures and their effectiveness.
Picture: Type tank
Utilizing silent reserve - Hardly any effect
The silent reserve consists of 17 thousand people with a PABO diploma who do not work in education, and another 32 thousand with a diploma for secondary education or MBO who are no longer in the classroom. Most of them now work in healthcare, a sector that is also struggling with shortages. It is difficult to entice this group to return to education. Work pressure and bad pay are the bottle neck.
Bringing back unemployed teachers - No effect
More than 11 thousand people on unemployment benefit have a teaching qualification. Most are over-55s in shrinking areas, who have left education to make way for young people. They are entitled to unemployment benefits until they retire. People who apply for a job are often not even called up. Others have health problems or have broken down. Regioplan research agency is clear about the possibilities: 'WW workers are not the solution to the teacher shortage.'
Seducing side entrants - Effect +/-
People who want to switch to education can make use of side entry grants. There is a lot of interest in this, more than 1100 in 2019, more than the subsidy fund can handle. However, the interest is somewhat skewed in relation to the demand from education, according to an overview that the ministry sent to the Lower House. Most side entrants want to go to MBO (63%), but interest is significantly lower for primary education (30%) and secondary education (7%).
Persuading part-timers - No effect
In primary and special education, a large proportion of part-timers would like to work more, especially young people. But on the other hand, there is a large group of over-35s who want to work a little less, Labor Market Platform PO saw. The two balance each other. If it is temporary, the willingness to replace a sick or pregnant colleague is greater, but many part-timers are satisfied with the size of their current job.
Keeping older people working - Hardly any effect
Most older people want to retire earlier than their state pension age. Only a small number wants to work longer due to shortages, the AObsurvey of people over 57.
Interesting young people - Effect +/-
Registration for teacher training courses for primary education has already shown a plus for two years, mainly due to the growth in part-time courses. The full-time teacher training program remains stable, despite the financial incentive that they do not only have to transfer half of the tuition fees in the first but also the second year. Teacher training courses for secondary education and MBO are actually experiencing a dip, while halving tuition fees is taking a year longer than in the rest of HBO.
