Teaching graduates fill the gap in Auckland schools

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said an intensive three-days of interviews got under way this morning to try and match this year's secondary teacher graduates with much needed job vacancies in the Auckland and Northland area.

"Beside Auckland secondary teacher graduates, 24 graduates from secondary teacher education programmes in Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington have been flown to Auckland for these interviews," Trevor Mallard said.

"I expect this exercise to have a positive outcome for both graduates and schools and it's my hope most of these graduates will be offered teaching positions for 2004.

“A similar initiative, held last year, successfully placed 80 per cent of South Island and Wellington graduates in jobs at Auckland secondary schools."

Trevor Mallard said Auckland's increasing roll growth meant the demand for teachers was high, but recent teacher recruitment initiatives were clearly working with a drop to around 120 vacancies, compared to 167 at this time last year.

Trevor Mallard said it was also important to increase the number of secondary graduates who go straight into teaching positions.

“If graduates do not go into teaching soon after graduation they may move into other types of employment, have to survive on relief teaching, or end up going overseas to teach.

"We need them here in our secondary classrooms - particularly teachers of chemistry, computing, English, mathematics, physics, physical education and te Reo."

Trevor Mallard said graduates will stay in university student accommodation and have the opportunity to visit a number of Auckland secondary schools and to look around the city.