Teachers find it difficult to get a job – despite the teacher shortage

There is said to be a lack of qualified teachers. At the same time, qualified teachers feel that it is difficult to get a job.

A cold shower for new teachers and an equation that both teachers and employers find difficult to put together.

Part-time employment, temp work or work in another location. It is everyday food for today’s teacher students who will enter the labor market after their degree, according to Adam Kedert, chairman of Sweden’s Teacher Students.

– I have seen cases where people have had to take different jobs in different municipalities with different principals in order to get together an equivalent to a regular full-time position.

He himself is studying to become a teacher in Uppsala and says that he and others were told during their studies that there should be plenty of work.

– It’s only when you get closer to graduation and start looking for a job that you notice what it actually looks like in reality. It comes like a cold shower.

– You have spent several years on an education that is not valued. I think many people feel let down or deceived.

“Cost Question”

In June, there were 3,188 people who stated that they were looking for work as primary school teachers registered with the Employment Service. Over a ten-year period, the figure is one of the higher.

– You talk about a teacher shortage, but you have teachers who are unemployed. It is an incorrect equation and it affects both children, students and teachers, says Anna Olskog, union president of Sweden’s Teachers.

The whole thing is primarily a cost issue for municipalities, according to the teachers’ union, which in some cases has seen that cutbacks have resulted in unauthorized people being hired before qualified teachers.

– An unauthorized person is cheaper to employ than a licensed and authorized person, says Anna Olskog.

Few are attracted to smaller municipalities

But Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR) does not believe that it is a matter of cost.

– I have seen examples of so many different solutions to really attract qualified teachers but where they have not succeeded, says section manager Maria Caryll.

She claims that there is work, but that few are attracted to smaller municipalities. It is particularly difficult to recruit in municipalities that lack nearby teacher training, according to Maria Caryll, who highlights the Norrland region as an example.

There has long been a lack of training for subject teachers.

– You stay close to where you studied in your home region and then you stand there in Lycksele, which can offer two part-time positions in a subject combination. In reality, teacher supply is extremely complex.

“Has consequences”

To solve the equation, the teachers’ union wants the state to take more responsibility for the school. SKR wants to see a greater spread of teacher training.

No matter what the problem is, Adam Kedert emphasizes.

– Above all, it has consequences for the individual who has invested three to almost six years of his time and education, taken on student loans and then does not get a job.