gjh, Reader's Comment 10 of 22, SOS sent to young teachers across NSW, Kate Sikora, The Daily Telegraph, 8 December 2011: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/sos-sent-to-young-teachers-across-nsw/story-e6freuzi-1226216698710 Historical link preserved from the original page.
New South Wales: How long do young teachers have to work as casuals before they get a permanent teaching position?
Current policies discriminate against young teachers and discourage them from entering the profession.
My partner, also a teacher, waited three years of contract teaching before receiving a permananent position despite receiving a top ranking on her interview.
During this time she was deliberately not employed until after the cut off where they would have to pay her across the holiday period.
She moved schools multiple times to follow student numbers and spent her holidays working in childcare centres so we could pay the bills during school holidays.
She did all this for the same daily pay as the permanent teachers that were paid over the holidays.
Contracts that ensure a mobile workforce and make savings on wages during the holiday periods are a major deterrent to a young teacher such as myself leaving a profession that has a reliable income that pays the mortgage week in week out.
The stress of not knowing when the next contract will come is too much for a young person struggling to make a start in life.
The solution to a shortage of young teachers is simple recruit them to meaningful employment.
It's not hard to see the number of teaching graduates is in excess of the number of young teachers employed.