The Future Education Workforce

New research from McCrindle points towards a challenge of teacher retention and the need to focus on the leadership pipeline.

● 56% of Australian teachers have considered leaving the profession in the last two years.
● The graduate pipeline has halved: Only 9.4% of commencing university students choose education degrees today, compared to 21% in 1986.
● 1 in 6 teachers (16%) will reach retirement age within the next decade, while only 2% choose to work past age 67.
● A perception gap exists: School leaders are 17 times more likely than classroom teachers to believe staff are already effectively supported
(34% vs. 2%).
● Optimism is rebounding: 26% of teachers are now extremely likely to recommend the career, a significant rise from a low of 6% in 2023.

Teacher recruitment challenges

McCrindle’s nation-wide research points toward a critical supply and demand mismatch in Australia’s education sector. The proportion of teachers
under 35 has nearly halved since 1981 (dropping from 54% to 29%), while those aged 55 and over have doubled to 23%. This coincides with a shrinking
pool of new graduates despite a student population that has surged by 410,000 over the past decade.

Teacher workload and leadership disconnect

The reality for educators remains demanding, even after the shifting of the work environment brought by the pandemic. Three in five teachers (62%)
regularly feel overwhelmed by their weekly workload, and 58% routinely sacrifice their evenings and weekends to keep up. The data also uncovers a
gap in the perception of workload. 34% of school leaders believe their structures effectively support the next generation, a view shared by 2% of
frontline teachers.

Leadership is an aspiration for many teachers

There is an appetite for growth, with 73% of teachers aspiring to a school leadership position. While educators are drawn to leadership by professional
challenge and financial rewards, many are deterred by occupational stress (45%) and unsustainable workloads (42%). Furthermore, a significant
retention risk lies in career mapping: 48% of teachers and 74% of current school leaders believe they will ultimately have to leave their current school
to secure a promotion.