Resolution, 20 July 2024: Branch Conference - Workforce Shortages
That Branch Conference reaffirms the AEU’s call for a decisive, comprehensive, and urgent state government response to the shortage of education staff consistent with the actions outlined in the AEU’s 10 Year Plan for Staffing in Public Education. The plan, launched at the 2022 AEU Branch Conference, focuses on the policies and investment which are necessary to properly address staff shortages across schools, Early Childhood and TAFE.
Conference acknowledges the significant efforts of members over the past two years in campaigning for programs to address shortages, whilst carrying additional workload to fill gaps and ensure the continued provision of high quality education.
Conference notes the AEU’s campaign success with the state government allocating additional funding for limited measures to support the retention of existing staff and investment to boost the attraction of new teachers, including:
- scholarships for students undertaking secondary and combined primary/secondary teaching courses (broadly equivalent in value to HECS debts incurred)
- paid placements for students undertaking practicums in eligible rural and regional schools, and metropolitan specialist schools
- expansion of the Career Start program over 2024/25 to approximately 75 per cent of Department areas, to support first year teachers and their mentors with additional face to face teaching reductions
- incentive payments to attract teachers to rural/regional/hard to staff schools
- flexible work options for principal class employees, to allow principals to job share
- innovative ITE courses, which allow pre-service teachers to undertake some paid work in schools whilst studying
- the teacher recruitment initiative, to provide a more streamlined recruitment system for schools and applicants
- scholarships for early childhood educators to attain and upgrade qualifications, including access to fee free TAFE programs for educator certificate and diploma courses.
While the campaign to date has delivered more than $250 million in extra investment to attract and retain teachers, the existing efforts are insufficient to address the increasing crisis. Students and staff in schools, TAFE, and Early Childhood continue to be impacted by significant workforce shortages, which has resulted in the loss or diminution of programs, and increased workload for existing staff as they go above and beyond to paper over the cracks.
Branch Conference calls on the Allan government to provide urgent and significantly increased funding for short-, medium-, and long-term actions to ensure that the educational and wellbeing programs provided to Victorian children and young people are delivered and/or supported by fully qualified, and well-resourced principals, education
support staff, teachers, and educators. Without this, quality provision is at risk, and the problems being experienced now will be exacerbated well into the future.
In the event that further significant and bold investment is not made, Branch Conference AEU Victorian Branch Conference calls on AEU members to join the ongoing campaign of action, including lobbying Labor members of the state government, union members addressing school councils seeking their support to raise concerns with their local member, and participating in political rallies to focus the community’s attention on the problems being experienced in the public education sector, and to demonstrate to state Labor government politicians that real action which will end the teacher shortage must be taken.