The Labour Market for School Teachers in

South AustraliaApril 2017

Labour Economics Office South Australia

Department of EmploymentPage 1

Occupations in cluster / Rating
2411-11 / Early Childhood (Pre-Primary) School Teacher / No Shortage
2412-13 / Primary School Teacher / No Shortage
2414-11 / Secondary School Teacher / No Shortage
2415-11 / Special Needs Teacher / No Shortage

Key issues

  • In the last ten years the school teacher occupations have been in good supply with no shortages reported.
  • When recruiting for teaching staff, most employers are able to successfully fill advertised vacant positions. They generally attracta sufficient number of suitable applicants and very few employers report having unfilled positions.
  • Commonly, regional employers attract fewer applicants per vacancy than metropolitan employers and receive lower suitable applicants per vacancy and this year is no different. However there is no significant difference in the proportion of vacancies filled.

Survey results

  • The survey results are drawn from the independent schools sector.
  • Historically the proportion of vacancies filled for school teacher occupations has fluctuated between 91and 100 per cent. Results from this year’s employer survey are on trend;94per cent of vacancies were filled within six weeks of advertising.
  • For school teacher occupations overall, employers received an average of 12.6applicants per vacancy for 2017. This is well below last year’s result of 22.2 applicants per vacancy and the five year average of 17.8.
  • Similarly, the ratio of suitable applicants per vacancy decreased in from 5.9 to3.6 in 2017. The result is also below the five year average of 4.9.
  • Typically primary school teacher vacancies receive a higher number of suitable applicants per vacancy; this occupation averages 8.0 suitable applicants per vacancy over the five year period.
  • In contrast,vacancies for secondary school teachers attracted,on average,3.1 suitable applicants per vacancy across thesameperiod and historically is the teaching occupation that receives the lowest number of suitable applicants per vacancy.
  • As the following chart shows,the proportion of vacancies filled has remained consistently above 90 per cent since 2007-8. The chart also shows that despite some fluctuations, employers have regularly been able to attract a sufficient number of suitable applicants for their vacancies.

Figure 1: Proportion of vacancies filled (%), average number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy (no.), school teachers, South Australia, 2007-08to2016-17.

Source: Department of Employment, Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised

Note: Occupational coverage varies over time series.

  • The following chart clearly demonstrates the early childhood (pre-primary school) teaching occupation recorded the highest ratio of applicants per vacancy (21.0) while vacancies for primary school teachers attracted the highest ratio of suitable applicants per vacancy (4.7).
  • In the previous survey child care service contacts advised that since they generally offer lower rates of pay and less attractive conditions of employment than the government and independent schools sector, this tends to deter applicants. Although employers still indicated this was an issue, survey numbers suggestthe labour market for early childhood teachers is strong.
  • Both primary school and special education teacher vacancies had the highest proportion of vacancies filled (100 per cent).

Figure 2: Proportion of vacancies filled (%), average number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy (no.), school teachers, South Australia, 2016-17

Source: Department of Employment, Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised

  • Recruitment of government school teachers is managed centrally and positions are not normally advertised externally.
  • The South Australian Department of Education and Child Development (DECD) is the largest single employer of teachers within the state (around 63 per cent of all primary and secondary school teaching staff work in the government sector)[1].
  • DECD has advised that almost all State Government school teaching positions were filled prior to the start of the 2017 academic year. Permanent relief teachers were placed in those very few positions that were unfilled.
  • Overall, both the employer survey results and information received from the government sector support a labour market rating of no shortage forteaching occupations.

Reasons applicants were unsuitable

  • All employers surveyed were seeking qualified and registered teachers with varying amounts of relevant work experience.The majority of applicants for primary, secondary and special education teachers held the appropriate qualificationand registration. However for the occupation of early childhood teacher 63% of applicants lacked the qualifications and registration required.
  • Applicants were assessed as unsuitable largely because they had only limited years of experience or lacked the specific skills to teach certain subjects or year levels.
  • Other applicants were unsuccessful because they were not a member of the religion practised at the particular school. Employers at these schools were seeking teachers who could incorporate religious values into their teaching.
  • Applicants with poorly written applications were also considered unsuitable by employers.

Demand and supply trends

  • Occupational demand is influenced by demographic factors, particularly growth in the size of the pre-school and school age population.
  • Demand has been rising over recent years.
  • The population of four year olds (pre-school eligible children) in South Australia had been trending upwards since 2008 and at 20,794 persons in2016, the population of four year olds is the highest recorded since the late 1970s. [2]
  • Similarly, the number of full-time equivalent primary school students in South Australia had increased by 1.3 per cent in 2015 and has further increased by another 1.2 per cent in 2016[3] .
  • In contrast, the number of enrolled full-time equivalent secondary school students in South Australia experienced a moderate 0.2 per cent decrease in 2016[4].
  • Consistent with the growth or decrease in student numbers, the full-time equivalent teaching workforce for primary schools increased by 1.1 per centand fell in secondary schools by 0.1 per cent in 2016 [5].
  • The department’s count of internet vacancies has recorded a significant increase in vacancies for early childhood teachers since 2011. Much of this increase is likely due to regulatory changes in the child care sector. The stronger demand for early childhood teachers is reflected in a rise in the number of vacancies advertised on the internet, with the number over the year to April 2017 being well above the long term average[6].
  • The main source of supply to the teaching profession is university training. Although student data fluctuates from year to year, there has been a gradual underlying increase in student completions over the past few years[7].

Labour Economics Office South Australia

Department of EmploymentPage 1

[1]ABS, Schools, Australia, 2016 (ABS Cat. No. 4221.0) Table 51a

[2]ABS, Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2016, Table 1 Estimated Resident Population By Single Year Of Age, South Australia, Excel spreadsheet, cat. no. 3101.0.

[3]ABS Schools, Australia, Cat. No. 4221.0, 2016, Table 43a.

[4]ABS Schools, Australia, Cat. No. 4221.0, 2015, Table 43a.

[5]ABS Schools, Australia, Cat. No. 4221.0, 2015, Table 51a.

[6]Department of Employment, Internet Vacancy Index, December 2016, 12 month moving average

[7]Department of Education and Training, Higher Education Student Data Collection, 2015, customised tables