There are daily media reports about the shortage of teachers and nurses. But while there will be more elderly people to care for and we will need more nurses, we will actually need fewer teachers. Cause? Fewer children are born. Figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) show that the turning point will already occur in 2025. Until 2040, Statistics Norway indicates a surplus of teachers. It is only for primary school teachers that they calculate a deficit until 2025. The figure must still be read with caution, writes SSB. There is uncertainty in how the population will develop, as well as how many teachers are trained each year. – Scary Amalie Pauline Steindal Johansen is in her first year of teacher training in Bodø. In five years, she will be standing at the front of a classroom and educating young adults. And she gets a little worried when she hears about the predictions from Statistics Norway. – You hear that there are so few students and so few available places. So it sounds pretty scary. I almost have to see it before I believe it, she says. The projection from Statistics Norway says nothing about how the teachers are distributed in the country. Because while more central areas may experience a surplus of teachers, small municipalities may struggle with a lack of applicants. DON’T BLAME EVERYONE: – I wished that there had been some teachers who had told me how good their profession is. Because surely not all teachers experience what many experience, says Amalie Pauline Steindal Johansen. Photo: Kåre Riibe Ramskjell / news Amalie Pauline already has her plan ready: She wants to work in the district when she finishes her education. – I have a plan to go to Finnmark, settle down there and work. I’ve never been there before and I want to try something new. In the longer term, she wants to return to Vesterålen and work as a teacher there. – I doubt that there won’t be a job to go to. I know there has been a great lack of people there. On the other hand, she believes that students who want to work in larger cities such as Oslo or Trondheim can feel more confident about the jobs if the projections from Statistics Norway are successful. – I think there can be a big race in the big cities, but not in the small squares. – Educating fewer people is completely wrong Trond Are Fjordtun is head of the Education Association in Bodø and is himself a teacher at one of the secondary schools in the municipality. He places little faith in the projections from Statistics Norway. – You look into the crystal ball, and in the past you have projected errors. There are many factors that are difficult to predict. Immigration and trends in child births may reverse towards 2040. Therefore, he believes that it will be completely wrong to train fewer teachers than is done today. Trond Are Fjordtun in the Education Association in Bodø was involved during the teachers’ strike last autumn. Photo: Petter Strøm / news – This is 17 years in the future. We actually need to train far more teachers. Like Amalie Pauline, Fjordtun believes that the district will continue to struggle to get teachers in the future. – But if there is a surplus of teachers, perhaps more will be willing to work in the “periphery”. I myself worked in the first years after further education at a small school on Kjerringøy north of Bodø. In the projection, it appears that it is only for primary school teachers that Statistics Norway calculates a deficit until 2025. After that, the number crunchers predict that this group will also be in surplus. Every third teacher’s place is empty In teacher training together with Johansen, the ranks are thin. This year, three out of four teaching positions are vacant at the university she attends in Bodø. At Nord University, almost two out of three teaching positions are empty. The whole country is now experiencing an exodus from education and on a national basis every third place is vacant. MORE TALKING: Hanne Gravok misses several of the fine teacher stories: – I know there is a lot of gold to be found. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news At the same time, there has been a lot of focus on poor conditions for teachers during the teachers’ strike this autumn. Now the question is whether it has a negative effect on recruitment that people talk down their own profession. This has recently been the topic of a debate in the series Listening in Bodø. Hanne Gravrok is project manager for Lærer i nord. She believes that everyone has a responsibility to improve their reputation. – For my part, who works with recruitment for education, it is important that everyone contributes in this somewhat critical phase we are currently in. Here, everyone must contribute positively to speak up for what is perhaps the most important profession we have. Could you imagine becoming a teacher? No, I don’t think so Yes, it seems like a rewarding job I’ve already chosen my career path, so it’s probably not relevant for me Show result Tired in the districts Even in districts like Rødøy, it’s difficult to get hold of qualified teachers, say director of education in the municipality, Svend Leif Einvik. – Now we see that the application piles have become significantly slimmer. There are fewer educated applicants applying for the vacant jobs we have. Further south on Helgeland lies the border municipality of Hattfjelldal. Here they have so few teachers that the municipality does not think it is advisable to have pupils between 5th and 7th grade. step at one of the village schools in Susendalen. There is only one permanent addition left. The rest are substitutes. – It is difficult to get the business going, says Acting Municipal Manager for Education and Culture Lisbeth Krutnes. DIFFICULTY: The coastal municipality of Rødøy in Helgeland finds it difficult to hire teachers. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news And the municipality has taken action – without particular success. Before Christmas, they advertised two full-time positions as teachers in the municipality. – We also made an offer for two pieces, but they declined. They had found work elsewhere. We are not the only municipality looking for teachers, she says. The same thing happened when they advertised the positions again in January. Current applicants were offered jobs, before they declined in return. Krutnes believes that the teaching profession has gotten a worse reputation over time. – You hear about teachers who evaluate their professions. We have them with us too. Will listen to feedback On Monday, the Minister for Research and Higher Education, Ola Borten Moe (Sp), called the first of a total of six feedback meetings around Norway. The aim is to map the most important challenges that professional education will face in the future and discuss proposals for solutions. The first meeting will deal precisely with teacher education in Norway. Here is an overview of the input meeting: Monday 30 January: Teacher training for the knowledge society of the future – Hamar Monday 6 February: Several good engineers for the green shift – Narvik Wednesday 15 March: Lifelong learning in the whole country – Kirkenes Monday 27 March: Health – and social studies that meet tomorrow’s big challenges – Bergen Tuesday 28 March: Inclusive professional education – Bergen Source: Government State Secretary Sindre Lysø (Ap) tells news that he is happy that Amalie has started teacher training. – Although it can be experienced as demanding and one encounters challenges, one who teaches gets the opportunity to contribute in a wonderful way to the lives of children and young people. – Do you have concrete ideas for how the recruitment and conditions of teachers can be improved in Norway? – We and many others work to make the teaching profession even better and strengthen recruitment. We are now working on a trust reform in the school. Together with the sector, we must go through the teachers’ and leaders’ tasks, and give the teachers greater professional leeway. 4-REQUIRED: Sindre Lysø (Ap), State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, also points to a need to strengthen the team around the students, with several professional groups in the school who can help solve the tasks. By removing the 4-requirement in mathematics, more well-qualified teachers can also get a place in the education, according to Lysø. Photo: Jens Driveklepp – We have grants for education and recruitment so that people with relevant work experience can become teachers, and we will facilitate flexible and accessible educational opportunities across the country. He also says that in 2023 around NOK 1.6 billion has been approved for further education of teachers and leaders in the school and refers to schemes to write off student loans, for example if you work in Northern Norway. During the period January-March 2023, the ministry will hold six input meetings around the country. Universities, colleges, students, organizations and working life will participate here. The upcoming parliamentary report on professional studies in higher education is scheduled to be presented in spring 2024.
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Two out of three teaching positions are empty – Amalie was scared but applied anyway – news Nordland
