Thousands of preschool teachers are missing in the coming years

Although fewer children are born, a strong shortage of preschool teachers is expected in the future.

The newly trained is not enough to cover up for anyone who retires or simply leaving the profession.

According to the National Agency for Education’s new forecast, there will be missing 10,600 competent preschool teachers and teachers in 2038, if no drastic changes occur. It is almost exclusively about a deficit of preschool teachers (10,500), which is unexpected given that fewer children are born.

– We were actually surprised, because with reduced children’s hills we expected a minor teacher shortage than the forecast showed, says Sanna Vent, teaching council at the National Agency for Education.

Changing occupation

A couple of explanations are that many preschool teachers retire, and that fewer preschool teachers are trained than before. But the National Agency for Education also sees another trend:

– There are more preschool teachers who leave the preschool for other work, compared to what it has been in previous forecasts, says Sanna Vent.

The increase is not large in percentage terms, but given that preschool teachers are many, the dropout has a major impact on the forecast, she continues.

Why more preschool teachers change jobs, the National Agency for Education has not analyzed. But the working environment is probably an important factor.

– We know that there are many in preschool who, just like in school, experience high workload and stress. In many preschools there is no trained staff, so you can think of that are reasonable explanations for choosing to leave.

Change school form

With regard to the other teacher categories, it is trained on the total enough, but while more special, vocational and high school teachers are needed, a surplus for teachers in leisure homes, special educators and high school teachers is expected.

A high school teacher can switch to high school, but otherwise qualifying education is needed to be able to change to another teaching profession.

– So even though there is a sufficient thing to be, it is still a major challenge with the lack of vocational teachers and special teachers, says Sanna Vent.

The National Agency for Education finds that efforts are needed to both attract new and retain already active teachers.

– The vast majority of teachers think that they have an important and meaningful profession. It needs to come out more clearly in the conversation and the debate. But then we also see that many people experience high workload and stress. We see that concerns about threats and violence have increased. Therefore, strengthened work environment work is needed at many preschools and schools, says Sanna Vent.

Facts forecast

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