2. Ensuring an adequate supply of well-prepared teachers in vocational education and training

Abstract

This chapter explores key challenges and policy responses to ensuring an adequate supply of well-prepared teachers in vocational education and training (VET). Based on the assessment of the extent of VET teacher shortages in countries where data are available, the chapter examines the causes of such shortages and their potential impact on the effective delivery of VET. It then identifies measures and incentives to effectively attract, recruit and retain teachers in VET.

Key messages for ensuring an adequate supply of well-prepared teachers in VET

VET teacher shortages are significant in many OECD countries, caused by factors related to the limited attractiveness of the VET teaching profession, including employment conditions, salaries, and a lack of financial incentives and career support.

The supply of VET teachers could be improved by making the profession more attractive. Targeted incentives and support to encourage participation in initial teacher education and training (ITET) and professional development (PD) could help attract and retain VET teachers. Focusing incentives on industry professionals in shortage areas could help attract those with relevant experience. VET teachers who receive targeted career support are also more likely to stay in the profession. For example, attrition rates among new VET teachers can be reduced by assigning them to less challenging working environments for their first placements and reduced teaching or administrative workloads so they have sufficient time for receiving mentoring and structured induction programmes. Offering experienced teachers attractive career pathways and targeted career support can encourage them to stay in the profession and to move into senior or management-level positions or into other subject areas.

Employing a greater number of professionals from industry can ease VET teacher shortages. As they often the lack necessary teaching qualifications and pedagogical skills, flexible recruitment and qualification pathways can help them become VET teachers. Countries might relax entry qualification requirements, if needed, for industry professionals and graduates from higher education specialising in relevant subjects, but should provide flexible alternatives to gaining any required teaching qualifications. Part-time work arrangements can also facilitate flexible VET teaching, but this should be combined with ensuring that part-time teachers’ working conditions and teaching skills are not compromised.

Policy pointers

1.1. Increasing the attractiveness of teaching careers in VET.
1.2. Providing flexible pathways into VET teaching.
1.3. Enabling industry professionals to teach in VET.
1.4. Improving the monitoring system of VET workforce dynamics.

The state of VET teacher shortages

Teachers in vocational education and training (VET) are unique in terms of how they are recruited and trained – they are required to have not only subject and pedagogical knowledge but, in many cases, work experience in their industry. Moreover, VET teachers’ skills can be in high demand in occupations other than teaching, making it harder to recruit and retain VET teachers in the related subjects. This is not only the case for teachers of vocational subjects, but also for those teaching general education subjects in VET programmes. Teacher populations are also ageing in many countries, and particularly VET teachers. Countries facing these issues need to develop strategies to bring enough new talent into the VET teaching workforce to meet forecast demand.

This section examines how teacher shortages are identified and presents evidence on the extent of VET teacher shortages in countries where data are available. The sections that follow discuss the causes of these shortages, and how countries can tackle these challenges.

International data on VET teacher supply and demand are diverse and poorly aligned

VET teacher shortages need to be measured and treated differently from shortages in other occupations. Although teacher shortages can be defined as the inability to fill teaching vacancies at current wages with individuals qualified to teach in the fields needed (i.e. demand exceeding supply), the VET teaching profession has some features that make shortages hard to define.

In order to measure VET teacher shortages, there are additional factors to take into account. The total supply of VET teachers includes the number of individuals with relevant VET teaching qualifications, but also the number of industry professionals with relevant experience and skills who enter the teaching profession. Therefore, the anticipated supply of VET teachers will vary depending on the country’s initial VET teacher education and training systems and how much movement there is between the VET sector and industry. The age at which VET teachers enter and exit the profession also matters for measuring teacher supply, as it determines for how many years they can serve. Supply also depends on retention rates among VET teachers, which in turn depends substantially on the level of support they receive, such as mentoring, working conditions and incentives. Underlying factors – often unmeasurable or subjectively measured – such as societal values and the reputation of VET teaching may also affect the supply of VET teachers.

The demand for VET teachers is largely dependent on the number of VET students, but class sizes and student-teacher ratios are also important determinants (Box 2.1), along with other indicators such as teachers’ working time and the division of time between teaching and other duties. Countries with a decreasing number of students may still face difficulty in recruiting VET teachers. For example, in Denmark, there are fewer students entering VET than there were,1 but this does not automatically lead to a lower demand for VET teachers because specialised courses are maintained despite reduced enrolment. The demand for VET teachers is also influenced by the demand for workers in occupations that require VET qualifications or skills, as well as the training needs of workers in these occupations.

As a result of these complexities, not many countries regularly and systematically collect comprehensive data focused on VET teachers, including the number of teachers, hiring needs and shortages.2 Collecting comprehensive data on VET teachers may be more challenging in countries where recruitment routes are diverse and where VET teachers often work in multiple VET institutions and sometimes divide their time between teaching and industry. VET teacher shortages are often measured through subjective assessments in surveys, for example surveys of VET institutional leaders about difficulties in recruiting teachers. However, some countries use a variety of data and qualitative information to assess shortages. For example, in England (United Kingdom), the Migration Advisory Committee carries out an annual exercise to define a UK-wide Shortage Occupation List, which identifies the occupations that are facing shortages and that are deemed appropriate to be filled by migrant workers. To identify which occupations face shortages, the committee uses information on wages, vacancies and employment, together with stakeholder evidence (MAC, 2020[1]). This exercise includes all “skilled” occupations, i.e. occupations classified above a certain level in the Regulated Qualifications Framework, including Further Education Teaching Professionals.

Likewise, few countries have data that can be used to forecast future demand for and supply of VET teachers. In Germany, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (KMK) forecasts the demand for and supply of VET teachers and any resulting imbalance (Figure 2.2). Sweden also produces a forecast of teacher demand and supply, with the latest published numbers based on the 2018 teacher register (number of teachers, the proportion of qualified teachers and of those who actually work as teachers), 2019 population projections, student-teacher ratios and other inputs. Statistics Norway projects teacher shortages using education and labour market statistics. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections projects occupational employment including projections for career and technical education (CTE) teachers in both secondary and post-secondary education (2019-29).

Box 2.1. VET teacher shortages and class sizes

Class sizes and student-teacher ratios are among the determinants of the demand for teachers (OECD, 2020[2]). Countries can reduce the pressure on teacher supply by increasing student-teacher ratios. Figure 2.1 shows that student-teacher ratios in upper secondary education differ widely across countries. On average in OECD countries, the ratio is roughly the same for both VET and general programmes, but in some countries the difference is significant.

The level of work-based learning (WBL; i.e. time outside the education provider) in VET influences the student-teacher ratio (OECD, 2020[2]). Countries with a higher level of WBL tend to have a larger number of students per teacher (therefore the student-teacher ratio in practice can be reduced by WBL trainers), while VET systems with a substantial school-based learning component tend to have the same or smaller student-teacher ratio as general education. Field of study also influences this ratio, with some technical fields requiring greater instructor supervision. For example, the United Kingdom has one of the smallest shares of upper secondary VET students graduating from the technical fields of engineering, manufacturing and construction and health and welfare (which are sectors requiring greater instructor supervision) among OECD countries. The United Kingdom also has nine more students per teacher in vocational programmes than in general ones, the largest difference across OECD countries. In contrast, the fields of study of upper secondary VET graduates in Austria, Germany and Switzerland are more diversified (meaning that the number of students is balanced across different fields of study), which may explain the similar student-teacher ratios between general and VET programmes in these countries (OECD, 2020[2]).

In the context of the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic, changes in class size based on guidelines on social distancing may also result in potential imbalances between the supply of teachers and student demand (OECD, 2020[2]).

Figure 2.1. Student-teacher ratios are among the determinants of teacher demand

While research and knowledge about these aspects has been limited (Behrstock-Sherratt, 2016[3]), some countries are strengthening their measurement of VET teacher demand and supply. In England, the Staff Individualised Record (SIR) collected data on teachers in the further education (FE) sector for 27 years with the last data being collected for 2018/19. However, teacher population estimates were not always included in the data and response rates varied across different types of providers. England is currently working to improve the data available on the FE workforce by introducing a workforce data collection from 2021 – this will become mandatory the following year, replacing the SIR. England has also gathered relevant data through the College Staff Survey in 2018 and its follow-up survey in 2019 among leaders, teachers and college staff in general and specialist FE colleges (Thornton et al., 2018[4]; Thornton et al., 2020[5]). Additionally, the 2019 Education and Training Professionals Survey was conducted among independent training providers, adult and community learning providers, and sixth form colleges (IFF Research, 2020[6]).

Internationally comparable data on VET teacher shortages are especially limited, as countries differ in how they define VET teachers (see Chapter 1) and how they measure or estimate supply and demand, reflecting the differences in their VET systems (Annex Table 2.A.1. Error! No bookmark name given.). Even those countries that do not appear to have teacher shortages at the national level may in fact be facing shortages at local or sectoral/subject levels, which further increases the difficulty of making international comparisons.

Despite limited data, some evidence suggests there are substantial VET teacher shortages in some countries and some fields

While there is no simple or uniform way to measure VET teacher shortages, in several OECD countries there is considerable concern about shortages of VET teachers. Based on available data and evidence, countries including Denmark, England, Germany, Korea, Portugal, Sweden and the United States show some signs of shortages of suitably qualified VET teachers. In the United States, for example, 98% of surveyed state directors of VET in a recent survey reported that remedying shortages of qualified VET instructors had been a key priority for their state and all those state directors indicated that this would be a priority for their state in the future (Advance CTE & CCSSO, 2016[7]). Other research indicates that as many as half the states across the country have major shortages of VET teachers (Jacques and Potemski, 2014[8]), and more than half of states reported that they have teacher shortages in one or more VET subject (2018-19 Teacher Shortage Areas in the United States). Australia,3 Finland, Japan and Norway also show some signs of shortages in certain sectors or regions (countries’ responses to the OECD questionnaire).

Some countries have made estimates of the expected shortfall in VET teacher numbers. In Germany, using the information from the KMK (KMK, 2019[9]), the estimated supply of VET teachers would be about 80% of the estimated demand per year between 2018 and 2030 (Figure 2.2). The German Education Union (GEW) estimated a greater shortage based on a larger estimated number of VET students (Dohmen and Thomsen, 2018[10]). In Sweden, a forecast by the Swedish National Agency for Education shows a risk of a shortage of trained upper secondary VET teachers. Based on information on examination needs 4 and estimated numbers of VET teacher training graduates, the agency estimated the supply of new VET teachers to be less than half of the demand for 2019-33 (Figure 2.2). Alternative calculations have assumed higher retention rates for VET teachers, but even these indicate future shortages. Future demand for upper secondary VET teachers in Sweden will grow from 6 838 full-time equivalents in 2018 to 7 900 in 2033, assuming that VET student application rates remain constant. While the average annual recruitment requirement is 830 full-time VET teachers for this period, this rises to 1 050 if the low retention rate of VET teachers compared to other teachers is taken into consideration, as well as teacher retirement rates and the growth in the student population (Skolverket, 2019[11]). In Korea, information based on the number of teacher entrants and retirees, implies that the supply of new VET teachers reached only about 70% of the replacement need in the past five years (Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2. Germany, Korea and Sweden have quantifiable indicators of VET teacher shortages

Data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 provide internationally comparable data on teacher shortages. Figure 2.3 shows that a significant share of the leaders of upper secondary educational institutions reported that VET teacher shortages and qualified teacher shortages limited their school’s capacity to provide quality instruction. In Denmark and Portugal, 37% of VET leaders reported shortages of qualified teachers. In Portugal, 32% reported shortages of vocational teachers.

Figure 2.3. VET leaders are concerned about VET teacher shortages

Some countries use several sources of information on teacher shortages, and it is not always easy to arrive at consistent overall conclusion from them. In England, although VET teachers (i.e. further education teaching professionals of both general and vocational subjects) do not feature on the shortage occupations list from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC, 2020[1]), other evidence does point towards possible shortages. First, the Committee identified limited availability of training in some shortage occupations (MAC, 2020[1])5 – this training shortage may suggest VET teacher shortages in those occupations. Second, several survey data sources indicate VET teacher shortages in England. According to the 2018 College Staff Survey, 53% of college leaders had found teacher recruitment over the last three years difficult (Thornton et al., 2018[4]). There are also shortages of mathematics teachers, who are crucial in many VET subjects, according to England’s national survey of the mathematics teacher workforce in FE colleges (Noyes, Dalby and Lavis, 2018[15]). Moreover, using information from the Annual Population Surveys, one-year retention rates for VET teachers in the United Kingdom were 79% in 2017, lower than the average for the UK workforce (83%), and have declined slightly from 84% in 2013. In comparison, retention rates of secondary school teachers declined from 86% to 82% over the same period (ONS, 2019[16]).

Even in countries where VET teacher shortages are not an issue at the aggregate level, such as Finland and Norway, shortages can be found in specific fields. This is particularly the case in fields with a high employment rate, as in those cases VET teaching jobs might offer less attractive wages than those in the industry. In Norway, projections show that supply and demand are roughly in balance for VET teachers today, and that supply will grow faster than demand over the period 2016-40 (Statistics Norway, 2018[17]). However, Norway does currently face difficulty attracting applicants for VET teacher positions in certain fields, such as the building and technical industries (Norway’s response to the OECD questionnaire). In England, the leaders of both further education colleges and independent training providers identified the fields of construction, engineering and manufacturing and digital/information technology (IT) as the most difficult vocational subjects to recruit in, and those with some of the highest vacancy rates 6 (Thornton et al., 2018[4]; IFF Research, 2020[6]). Teacher shortages are not only an issue for vocational subjects, but also general subjects that are crucial in many VET programmes. For example, since 2016, apprentices and lower-attaining post-16 students progressing to FE in England must attain a certain level of mathematics and English. Driven in large part by this policy change, FE college principals and leaders of adult learning providers have indicated that maths and English were the most difficult academic subjects to recruit in, and that the related fields of numeracy, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and literacy also had some of the highest vacancy rates (Thornton et al., 2018[4]; IFF Research, 2020[6]). For sixth form colleges, physics was the most difficult subject to recruit in (65%), followed by mathematics (50%) and chemistry (45%) (IFF Research, 2020[6]).

The attractiveness of the VET teaching profession

Some of the factors behind VET teacher shortages may be related to the limited attractiveness of the profession due to employment conditions and a lack of financial incentives and career support. During OECD stakeholder interviews in England, Japan and the United States (see Box 1.1 and Annex 1.A. in Chapter 1), some participants pointed out that the relatively low status and reputation of VET often translates into relatively few applicants for VET teaching positions, low retention rates and dissatisfaction with the profession compared to other competing careers.7

The profession’s lack of attractiveness contributes to VET teacher shortages

VET teaching competes with careers in industry and other educational institutions

As with other careers in the education sector, the attractiveness of VET teaching careers, salaries and working conditions relative to alternative occupations affects how likely people are to undertake initial teacher training and remain in the profession (OECD, 2019[18]). VET supports industry by developing and supplying qualified professionals, but also often has to compete with industry to recruit talent, particularly for occupations that are facing shortages, and is often unable to offer competitive salaries. Competition for staff with general educational institutions, especially when recruiting teachers of general subjects, particularly mathematics and science, can also be challenging. According to exploratory research in England, general secondary teaching is the closest occupation to the FE teaching profession, followed by industry occupations that match the vocational subject taught (Lake et al., 2018[19]). This shows that the VET sector has to compete with both general secondary teaching and industry in similar fields to recruit teachers.

VET teachers often move between the VET sector and other educational institutions or industry. According to the 2019 College Staff Survey Follow Up 8 in England (Thornton et al., 2020[5]), 13% of teachers and leaders in FE had left the college where they were employed when they were surveyed the year before. Among those who had left their college, around half (52%) remained working in education, including 35% who remained in the FE sector. The remainder were either working in industry (17%), no longer working (18%) or self-employed (7%) (Figure 2.4). The likelihood of leaving the FE sector had also risen among some teachers: the largest increase those reporting they were likely to leave was among engineering and manufacturing teachers (+17 percentage points since the 2018 survey) and construction (+6 percentage points), both sectors with particular recruitment challenges. Among newer teachers (those who had worked in FE for less than 3 years), 40% reported that they were likely to leave FE in the next 12 months in 2019 (31% in the 2018 survey). In comparison, FE colleges’ churn rate was greater than higher education institutions’ (9%), but lower than secondary schools’ (20%). However, only 11% of secondary school teachers in England were intending to leave the profession entirely, which is lower compared to FE college teachers (IFF Research, 2020[20]). Similarly, the need for VET teacher recruitment in Sweden is largely driven by teachers leaving for other jobs (Skolverket, 2019[11]).

Figure 2.4. Some VET teachers leave their jobs to go into general education or industry in England (UK)

According to the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) data for 2017-19, about 9-10% of VET teachers in England, Finland and Portugal were looking for another job, while the share was about 8% for the United Kingdom overall (including all four regions), Denmark and France. In particular, a large share of VET teachers in Denmark, England (and the United Kingdom), Estonia, France, Hungary and Portugal were looking for another job that all other comparison groups including general education teachers (Figure 2.5). In contrast, VET teachers in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, are less likely than other groups to be looking for another job. Probit regression results using 2019 EU LFS data suggest that across European countries, VET teachers are slightly more likely (2 percentage points, statistically significant) to be looking for another job when compared to general education teachers with similar personal and job characteristics (Annex Table 2.A.3).

Figure 2.5. VET teachers in several countries are more likely than other workers to be looking for another job

Evidence from the United States (Texas) suggests that turnover intention of CTE teachers in the health science field, which faces VET teacher shortages, negatively correlates with job satisfaction. Job satisfaction accounted for almost 40% of the unique variation in turnover intention (Park and Johnson, 2019[22]).

Job security and salary levels are important factors influencing choices to become VET teachers

Employment security is an important determinant for entering a profession, and has a strong impact on retention and job satisfaction. This is certainly also the case for the VET teaching profession. The use of temporary contracts for VET teachers is widespread in several OECD countries. For example, many Australian VET teachers, whether they work for a public or private Registered Training Organisation (RTO)9, are employed on insecure contracts, such as a casual contract (paid by the hour) or a short-term contract (semester by semester or year by year). Such flexible recruitment and time arrangements make it easier to hire industry professionals and allow VET teachers to also work in industry to bring up-to-date industry knowledge to VET, but casual VET teachers have no clear career prospects, and much more limited employment benefits (e.g. paid annual leave) than those employed on a permanent contract. While many of the casually employed teachers in some of the larger public RTOs are re-engaged time and again, the underlying insecurity does not make VET teaching an attractive career initially (ACDEVEG’s response to the OECD questionnaire).

In most OECD countries with available data, temporary contracts are more common for VET teachers than both general education teachers and all tertiary-educated workers (Figure 2.6). In Canada, Portugal and Spain, for example, one out of three VET teachers have a temporary contract, which is much higher than among general education teachers. Among the nine European countries with available data, the main reason for VET teachers to be employed on a temporary contract was that they could not find a permanent job, except in the Netherlands and Germany where a large share of temporary VET teachers (60%) report having this type of contract because they are in training or probation (Figure 2.7).

The COVID-19 pandemic and its particularly strong impact on the VET sector has contributed to further employment insecurity – although the impact might be temporary. For instance, in England 8% of FE teachers were furloughed in 2020 compared to 2% of secondary school teachers, based on the national labour force survey (MAC, 2020[1]). Between August 2019 and August 2020, job postings for FE teachers decreased by 14.2% whereas those for secondary school teachers increased by 6.7%, based on Burning Glass Technology data (MAC, 2020[1]). These differences may be related to the fact that it is harder to teach vocational and practical skills on line than general and academic subjects and that the FE sector is privatised in England, whereas secondary schools are not.

Figure 2.6. VET teachers are more likely to have a temporary contract than general education teachers

Figure 2.7. A large share of VET teachers with a temporary contract could not find a permanent job

Teachers’ salaries represent the largest single cost in VET (see Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1) and also have a direct impact on the attractiveness of the teaching profession. They influence individuals’ decisions to enrol in initial teacher education, to become a teacher after graduation, and to return to the teaching profession after a career interruption. They also have an impact on whether teachers choose to remain in teaching; in general, the higher teachers’ salaries, the fewer people choose to leave the profession (OECD, 2020[2]). In England, according to the 2018 College Staff Survey (CSS), 41% of FE college principals said that pay affected the recruitment and retention of teachers in FE colleges: this included salaries being higher in industry (22%) and in non-VET schools (17%) (Thornton et al., 2018[4]). Salary levels – although not always the most cited or the only factor – were also among the main determinants of job satisfaction in CSS. According to the 2019 Education and Training Provider Survey, pay and benefits were not “the most difficult aspects of working in education and training”, being reported by about 11-18% of VET providers (IFF Research, 2020[6]). In the six OECD countries/regions with TALIS 2018 data available, the share of VET teachers who were satisfied with their salary ranged from just over 70% in Alberta (Canada) to only 15% in Portugal (Figure 2.8). Only in Denmark were VET teachers much less satisfied with their salary than teachers in general education.

However, it is difficult to confirm whether the level of satisfaction reflects actual differences in salary levels relative to other teachers (or other jobs) with comparable personal and job characteristics. First, available data – both within countries and internationally – do not always allow the salaries of VET teachers to be compared with those of teachers in general education programmes who have the same level of qualification and work experience, nor with those of workers in relevant occupations outside the education sector (i.e. alternative occupations for VET teachers). Second, remuneration regimes may not be the same for VET teachers and general education teachers (e.g. teachers in VET institutions and secondary schools in Australia and England) or VET teachers may be remunerated from different sources (e.g. public, private or a combination of both). Moreover, in some countries, teaching qualifications are not required for VET teachers whereas general education teachers’ qualifications are regulated, as is the case in England.10

Figure 2.8. About 40% of VET teachers on average are satisfied with their salary

While the statutory salaries of upper secondary teachers with 15 years of experience and the minimum qualifications were similar in general and VET programmes in the 19 OECD countries with available data (OECD, 2020[2]), their actual salaries may differ. Where there are differences, this may reflect differences in the age distribution of teachers, their qualification levels and experience or differences in the allowances available and tasks undertaken. Other benefits, such as regional allowances for teaching in remote areas, family allowances, reduced rates on public transport and tax allowances for the purchase of instructional materials, may also form part of teachers’ total remuneration (OECD, 2020[2]).

Data from the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES) 2014 and other sources of information on earnings show that the median salaries of VET teachers (defined by teaching subject, not by programme orientation) are 7.8% lower than those of general education teachers for the 15 countries with available data (based on median monthly earnings for all but 3 countries; see Figure 2.9 for details). Even when controlling for certain personal and job characteristics, a regression analysis using SES data for European countries finds that full-time VET teachers tend to earn less per month than full-time general education teachers among the countries taking part (a 3.8% difference, statistically significant).11 A similar regression analysis shows that age, tenure and education level are generally positively correlated with the level of VET teachers’ salaries.12 The data also allow teachers’ salaries to be compared to those of other reference groups. For example, in half of the countries with available data, VET teachers earn higher salaries than tertiary-educated workers; only in France do they earn higher salaries than general education teachers (Figure 2.9).13

Evidence from national data also suggests a similar story. In England, according to ASHE 2019, FE teachers’ median full-time annual wage is about GBP 2 600 below that of secondary school teachers (MAC, 2020[1]). According to the National Careers Service (2020[26]), FE lecturers, tutors or teachers earn between GBP 24 000 and 37 000 (working 35-37 hours a week), varying by sector and subject, while secondary school teachers earn between GBP 24 373 and 41 419 (working 37-45 hours a week). In addition, as the pay for VET teachers is also usually below the level earned by those working in the relevant industry, VET teaching may not be attractive to highly skilled trades and professionals.

Figure 2.9. VET teachers earn less than general education teachers

Figure 2.10. VET teachers’ wages may differ depending on the school level, funding model and other factors

Another aspect to consider is that these average wages hide possible differences between certain types of VET teachers, types of schools and other factors. For example, in the United States, there is little difference between the average wage levels of secondary school teachers of general subjects and of career and technical education (CTE) teachers (Figure 2.9). However, there is difference based on the type of institution (e.g. state-owned versus private) and the level at which teachers teach (e.g. secondary versus post-secondary) (Figure 2.10). Similarly in England, average salaries differ depending on the type of providers.14

Several other factors affect VET teachers’ satisfaction with the profession

While salary levels relative to competing industries and employment security are the main challenges to VET teacher recruitment and retention, there are additional issues that may also require attention depending on individual countries’ contexts. These include society’s recognition of the profession, career development opportunities, workload and management-related issues.

The level of societal recognition on the profession may influence the choice to enter VET teaching (OECD, 2020[32]). According to TALIS 2018, only 31% of VET teachers feel that the teaching profession is valued by society (Figure 2.11). However, country variation was substantial: 13% of VET teachers in Slovenia reported that their profession was valued by society, compared to 56% in Alberta (Canada). In all countries, VET teachers are slightly more likely to report that their profession is valued by society than general education teachers.

Figure 2.11. Not many VET teachers feel that teaching is valued in society

Workload, management (see Chapter 5) and career development opportunities may also have an effect on job satisfaction, which in turn may have an effect on teacher retention. For example, according to the 2018 CSS in England, the reasons why teachers were considering leaving FE in the next 12 months (42% of teachers) were mostly related to workload (40%), perceived poor college management (39%) and pay (35%) (Thornton et al., 2018[4]). Related to the dissatisfaction with college management, 47% of teachers at poor-quality colleges (i.e. those rated “requires improvement” or “inadequate”) said they were likely to leave the FE sector (and expressed higher levels of dissatisfaction), compared with 38% of teachers at good-quality colleges ("outstanding” or “good”) (Thornton et al., 2018[4]). The 2019 CSS Follow Up confirms this: the most common reasons given for leaving the FE sector among teachers and leaders who had done so were perceived poor college management (58%), followed by unmanageable workloads (46%).

The 2018 CSS (Thornton et al., 2018[4]) found that 59% of teachers were not satisfied with the opportunities available to develop their careers in FE. The level of dissatisfaction with career development opportunities was slightly lower among teachers working for other types of providers, according to the ETP survey (IFF Research, 2020[6]).15 According to the 2019 CSS Follow Up (Thornton et al., 2020[5]), 37% of teachers who were surveyed in 2018 had been dissatisfied with opportunities to develop their career in FE.

Targeted financial incentives and career support can help make VET teaching careers more attractive

Well-targeted financial incentives and support can help attract and retain VET teachers

Financial support and incentives, including salary increases and compensation of teacher training costs, can make VET teaching careers more attractive and motivate qualified teachers to stay and progress in their profession. Supportive and attractive employment conditions, including salaries, can also have positive effects on teachers’ willingness to remain in the profession and their capacity to provide high-quality learning environments for their students (OECD, 2019[18]). According to TALIS 2018, on average across the OECD, teachers – including both general and VET teachers – who are satisfied with their salaries and employment conditions are more likely than others to want to continue in teaching, and also to remain in the same school (OECD, 2020[32]).16

While the evidence on the effectiveness of financial incentives and support on VET teacher recruitment and retention is limited and mixed, well-targeted financial incentives and support are proven to be effective. Targeted support includes financial incentives for those taking up initial teacher education and training (ITET) and professional development, or financial (salary) incentives that are targeted on industry professionals in areas of teacher shortages. Research conducted in England suggests that financial incentives to encourage take up of ITET among FE teachers have met with varying degrees of success and are most effective when multiple complementary schemes are offered together, offering a suite of initiatives may help to increase awareness of the support available to potential candidates, and increase the visibility of the VET sector as a career option (CooperGibson Research, 2018[33]).

There are several examples of targeted bonus and wage incentives for teacher recruitment and retention in VET. These incentives can be targeted at specific subjects where it is difficult to recruit teachers, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), or the health care sector. For example, in Belgium (Flanders), individuals moving from the private sector into VET teaching in shortage subjects are allowed to enter the teaching profession at a higher tenure level (to a maximum of 8 years), which means a salary of up to EUR 300 per month above the baseline salary (Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs en Vorming, 2020[34]).17 England also provided a range of financial incentives to attract high-quality graduates to teach mathematics and English in FE colleges. The evaluation of these initiatives found that overall they had a positive impact on the number of new trainee teachers and their rates of completion and employment as a teacher in FE sector, but that not all incentives were effective (Box 2.2). In the United States, various federal, state or local-level grants are available to improve recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers or industry professionals in VET (Box 2.3). Norway provides a grant scheme for industry professionals who have a trade- or journeyman’s certificate or similar but no teacher training. The scheme offers candidates a grant to complete the course needed to become a qualified VET teacher.

Some countries have also tried to make VET teaching more attractive by salaries. In Korea, for example, as part of the Plan for Vocational High School Support and Employment Promotion 2020, the government is planning to increase the salaries of adjunct teachers from industry by more than 10% to attract them into VET teaching. However, in many countries, it is not easy to raise salary levels overall, and especially not to the levels at which industry pays highly skilled workers, regardless of whether salaries are set in accordance with civil servant remuneration regimes or otherwise.

VET teachers’ salaries are defined in different ways in different countries. For example, in Denmark, the teachers’ trade union negotiates teachers’ salaries with employers, using the base salary set by the government as a framework. VET institutions can adjust VET teachers’ salaries based on their levels of qualifications and experience, but in many cases there are no incentives based upon performance or experience. In England, FE providers define teachers’ salaries (market-based), and there is no framework or external intervention other than a non-binding guideline and recommendation on pay (e.g. by the Association of Colleges for FE colleges). In Austria, Germany and Korea, where VET teachers are civil servants or regulated by equivalent laws and regulations, teachers receive government-defined salaries, although in Germany central or regional governments can adjust teachers’ salaries in order to guarantee performance levels, awards and allowances (see Box 2.7 on teacher recruitment).

Countries could consider targeted salary increases given that some VET teachers’ salaries depend on multiple factors such as the relevant sector or occupation, and their level of education and experience, and type of VET institution (e.g. public or private; national or regional). It may be possible to increase salary levels without increasing overall teaching costs through the better management of human resources. In England where FE colleges can set their teachers’ salaries, some colleges have been able to achieve low teaching costs by managing their staffing mix, managing costs per teacher (e.g. greater use of high-performing staff with lower tenure), and optimising the number of learners per teacher (through managing teaching contact hours, class or group sizes and teaching hours per learner), according to the Association of Colleges (AoC, 2015[35]).

Box 2.2. Targeted financial incentives and support to attract and retain highly qualified professionals into VET teaching in England (UK)

Taking Teaching Further programme

The Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme (started in 2018) is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by the Education and Training Foundation. It aims (1) to increase the number of skilled FE teaching professionals by helping providers to support experienced industry professionals to enter the FE teaching profession; and (2) to raise the profile of FE teaching, particularly among industry professionals. The programme supports industry professionals in prioritised subject areas 1 to become vocational teachers, covering the cost of a teaching qualification, reducing their workload during the first year of teaching and providing other early career support such as mentoring and paired teaching. In addition to the initial investment of GBP 5 million in 2018-20 to recruit and train around 150 new FE teachers, the Department has made GBP 10 million available during 2020-22 to support the recruitment, training and retention of over 500 FE teachers across any of the 15 technical teaching routes.2 Although the programme is still ongoing, the early indication based on stakeholder interviews suggests that it has brought some positive effect.

The TTF programme also supports the roll out of “T Levels” – new technical study programmes – by supporting providers to recruit teachers into T Level subject areas. T Levels aim to transform vocational education at the upper secondary level and will exist alongside apprenticeships to meet employment needs. School-based VET will last for two years, and includes a technical part that is being designed in co-operation with employers. The first three programmes were rolled out in September 2020 with dedicated qualifications in the sectors of education and childcare, digital, and construction with further sectors to be added in the coming years.

Further Education (FE) Workforce Programme

The FE Workforce Programme (2013-16) aimed to address FE workforce challenges arising from policy changes, including those relating to maths and English. The programme included:

Bursaries for FE Initial Training Education (GBP 4 000-25 000), to attract graduates to teach in FE.
A Subject Knowledge Enhancement scheme that funds ITET providers to deliver maths subject knowledge training in preparation for or alongside an ITET course.
A Golden Hello scheme for new maths teachers who have worked in the sector for two years and spend over half their time teaching General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) courses.
Recruitment incentive grants for FE providers to support the recruitment of new maths teachers.
A pilot Premium Graduate scheme, which provided a two-year enhanced ITET scheme for high-calibre new entrants to the FE sector.
A range of funded enhancement activity to enable existing teachers to access fully funded development and training to be able to teach English or maths.

The programme aimed to create capacity equivalent to an additional 2 500 maths teachers and 2 600 English teachers in FE with the skills to deliver GCSEs by the end of the 2015/16 academic year either by training existing teachers to deliver these subjects or to recruit new teachers into the sector. According to the official evaluation report of the recruitment element, the FE bursary scheme had a positive impact on the number of trainee teachers ITET (53% of the recipients surveyed reported that they would not have enrolled in such a programme without the bursary) by offering grants to graduates and providing incentives for FE colleges to promote their initial teacher education programme – although better targeting would have improved the impact. An evaluation of the Maths Enhancement Programme and English Enhancement Programmes, which were both designed to train existing teachers, found that they helped to increase the number of maths and English teachers, and improved the quality of teaching according to participants. Other recruitment initiatives (the maths teacher Golden Hello programme, recruitment incentives and premium graduate scheme) had limited an impact on attracting teacher candidates, partly due to a lack of awareness about these aspects of the programme.

← 1. Childcare and education, digital, construction, engineering and manufacturing, or another priority STEM subject specialist area where teaching vacancies are hard to fill.

← 2. Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care; Business and Administrative; Catering and Hospitality; Construction; Creative and Design; Digital; Education and Childcare; Engineering and Manufacturing; Hair and Beauty; Health and Science; Legal, Finance and Accounting; Protective Services; Sales, Marketing and Procurement; Social Care; Transport and Logistics.

Source: DfE (2017[36]), Post-16 technical education reforms: T level action plan, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/760829/T_Level_action_plan_2017.pdf; DfE (2019[37]), https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/842382/2019_T_Level_Action_Plan.pdf; DfE (2020[38]), Introduction of T Levels, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels DfE, (2019[39]), 160 more industry professionals to be recruited as FE teachers, www.gov.uk/government/news/160-more-industry-professionals-to-be-recruited-as-fe-teachers; CooperGibson Research (2018[33]), Incentive programmes for the recruitment and retention of teachers in FE, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incentive-programmes-for-the-recruitment-and-retention-of-teachers-in-further-education-fe; ETF (n.d.[40]), Taking Teaching Further, www.et-foundation.co.uk/supporting/support-teacher-recruitment/taking-teaching-further; Zaidi, Howat and Rose (2018[41]), FE workforce programme evaluation, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/767260/Further_education_workforce_programme_evaluation.pdf

Box 2.3. Targeted financial incentives and support to attract highly qualified VET teachers in the United States

Transition to Teaching

The Transition to Teaching programme provides grants to recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals (including qualified para-professionals) and recent college graduates, as teachers in high-need schools. It also encourages the development and expansion of alternative certification routes (to under state approved programmes) that would reduce the amount of time it takes for individuals to become certified teachers, based on their experience, expertise and academic qualifications in place of traditional course work in the field of education. The programme provides five-year grants to state and local educational agencies, or other organisations collaborating with them. Grantees develop and implement comprehensive approaches to training, placing, and supporting the teaching candidates they have recruited into their programmes, which must meet relevant state certification or licensing requirements. Grantees then ensure that programme participants are placed in high-need schools and districts, supporting them as they serve in these placements for at least three years.

Teacher Pathway Initiative

The US Department of Education also provided grants to upper secondary schools experiencing VET teacher shortages through High School Career and Technical Education Teacher Pathway Initiative (Office of CTAE, US Department of Education, 2017[42]). For example, the Broward Educating Superior Technology Teachers project built the high school CTE teacher pipeline in computer science and IT to address the skills gap in Broward County’s computer science/IT in-demand industry occupations. The project recruited and prepared Broward Schools’ CTE teachers, non-CTE-teachers, industry professionals and Broward College Education Pathway students to earn a Business Education certification that enable them to teach technology courses (US Department of Education, n.d.[43]).

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Programme

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Programme may cancel up to USD 17 500 study loans (e.g. Federal Family Education Loans) depending on the subject area taught, for highly qualified teachers on the condition that they teach full time for five years in a low-income school or educational service agency. A highly qualified teacher is defined as one who has attained at least a bachelor’s degree, received full state certification as a teacher and not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis. Mathematics or science teachers who taught students at secondary school level or special education teachers have advantage in this. In addition, a recent law established the New York state teacher loan forgiveness programme, which provide grants of up to USD 5 000 to teachers with education loans who agree to teach in the state in a shortage subject area or a hard-to-staff school district. This law applies to VET teachers given that VET has been identified as a teacher shortage area in New York, according to a report from the US Department of Education (ACTE and Advance CTE, 2019[44]).

Source: US Department of Education (2020[45]), Transition to Teaching, https://www2.ed.gov/programs/transitionteach/index.html; Federal Student Aid (2020[46]), Wondering whether you can get your federal student loans forgiven for your service as a teacher? https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/teacher.

Career development support can help to retain VET teachers

VET teachers who have targeted career support are more likely to stay in the profession and such support is particularly important for those who entered the profession after or while working in industry. For example, England’s CSS 2018 suggests a positive correlation between retention and VET teachers’ satisfaction with opportunities to develop their career. Among those teachers who were dissatisfied with the career development opportunities in FE, 69% said they were likely to leave the sector in the next 12 months, compared with 21% of teachers who were satisfied (Thornton et al., 2018[4]). There are various ways to support career development for VET teachers to stay in the profession.

Training and mentoring of novice teachers, particularly new teachers recruited from industry, to strengthen their pedagogical skills (see Chapter 3).
Providing experienced VET teachers with relevant professional development and career progression opportunities: for experienced teachers, providing professional development opportunities (see Chapter 3), providing opportunities for career mobility, and building attractive career pathways to become head teachers or VET institutional leaders are effective ways to motivate them to stay in the VET teaching profession.

Teachers at the start of their careers face particularly difficult situations and thus need much more support from VET institutions, mentors and other teachers. TALIS data show that teachers in their early career tend to work in more challenging schools and often work in more than one school at a time (OECD, 2020[32]).18 In some countries, low teacher retention, in particular high attrition among new teachers, is a serious challenge. For example, Helms-Lorenz (2014[47]) reported that approximately 21% of secondary teachers in the Netherlands had stopped teaching after one year and 31% after five years, and the figures were slightly higher among teachers in vocational schools than those in general secondary education or pre-university schools (Helms-Lorenz,, 2014[48]). In England, the CSS 2019 follow-up showed that 27% of those who left their main college did so within a year of starting work there and a further 19% had left before completing three years’ service (Thornton et al., 2020[5]).

Figure 2.12. Less than half of VET teachers received an induction on average

Figure 2.13. VET teachers receive a variety of forms of induction to different degrees

Lack of support for novice teachers and poor inductions – in particular for those who came from industry – can therefore result in higher staff turnover, lower retention rates and lower levels of job satisfaction and are likely to have a negative impact on teacher performance (De Bruijn, Billett and Onstenk, 2017[49]). Given that novice teachers need extra support, it is helpful for them to be assigned to less challenging working environments in their first placements (OECD, 2020[32]). Reduced teaching and administrative workloads to have sufficient time for mentoring and structured induction programmes can also reduce attrition in the early years (den Brok, Wubbels and van Tartwijk, 2017[50]).

According to TALIS 2018, less than half of VET teachers in the countries with available data received any formal induction (Figure 2.12). Only in Portugal and Sweden did more than two-thirds of VET teachers receive a formal induction. In Turkey, despite the introductions of mandatory induction in 2016 (see below), induction remained largely informal (77% informal versus 21% formal for VET teachers). Differences between VET and general education teachers are small and not significant in all countries, with the exception of informal induction in Denmark and Slovenia. In Denmark, informal inductions are more common among VET teachers than general education ones (46% versus 36%), whereas the opposite holds in Slovenia (37% versus 46%).

Induction can take many different forms, including personalised inductions (e.g. individual meetings with, or supervision by, leaders or experienced teachers or team teaching with experienced teachers), general inductions, induction courses, networking and reduced workloads. According to TALIS data, across the six OECD countries/regions with available data, the most common form of induction for both VET and general education teachers who received one was a personalised induction in the form of meetings with and supervision by leaders and experienced teachers (Figure 2.13). VET teachers received some types of personalised induction more often than general education teachers. For example, 74% of VET teachers were supervised by leaders and/or experienced teachers, compared with 68% of general education teachers and 53% did team teaching with experienced teachers (44% for general education teachers). In particular, VET teachers in Denmark are much more likely to benefit from team teaching with experienced teachers (75%) and a reduced teaching load (36%), compared to general education teachers (36% and 22% respectively), while the other types are relatively less common.

Figure 2.14. VET teachers are more likely to have or be a mentor than general education teachers

Mentors can provide crucial support during a teacher’s first years of teaching. According to the 2018 TALIS data, on average in the six OECD countries/regions, only 36% of VET teachers with less than three years of experience in teaching were assigned a mentor (Figure 2.14). The variation across countries was large, with only 15% of novice VET teachers being assigned a mentor in Denmark, compared to almost 50% in Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. In contrast, Denmark has the largest share of novice general education teachers receiving support from a mentor (42%), whereas the share falls to 13% in Portugal. In all countries except Denmark, novice VET teachers are more likely to be assigned a mentor than their peers in general education. Similarly, experienced VET teachers are on average more likely to be a mentor than teachers in general education, although the difference is small (14% versus 11% on average across the six OECD countries/regions with available data).

Box 2.4. Mentor training programmes for further education teachers in England (UK)

A new mentoring training programme will run from October 2020 to March 2021, aiming to give FE practitioners the opportunity to experience and practise a variety of mentoring techniques and undertake 40-50 hours of supported mentoring. Running over a six-month period, the professional development programme offers two strands of mentor training: one for practitioners who are new to mentoring, and one for experienced or qualified mentors. The “Advanced mentoring” programme is for FE practitioners who have one to two years’ experience in mentoring or who have mentoring qualifications. It will also offer PD activities for more experienced or qualified mentors who will also undertake a small project to improve mentoring in their organisation.

FE providers participating in this programme will be eligible to apply for a grant of up to GBP 6 000 which will contribute towards the costs of reducing mentors’ and mentees’ timetables so that they can take part in the training as well as undertaking 40-50 hours of mentoring activity. Mentors who complete the courses will be awarded a digital badge.

Source: ESFA (ESFA, 2020[51]), ESFA Update further education: 16 September 2020 - FE Mentor Training Programme, www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-16-september-2020/esfa-update-further-education-16-september-2020#information-fe-mentor-training-programme.

While many countries provide some form of induction for novice VET teachers, there remains room for improvement. In the United States, there are no systematic induction programmes for new VET teachers at a national or state level, instead initial teacher education and training may play this role. Universities of teacher education provide programmes equivalent to induction for VET teachers as part of initial teacher training. For example, the University of Minnesota runs the Teacher Induction Programme for VET teachers in the agriculture sector, involving senior, regional and peer mentors. The Teaching to Lead programme provides coaching and professional development to novice CTE teachers in the United States before, during and after the first year of teaching (see Box 2.5).

Some countries provide guidelines on how new teachers should be welcomed and guided at the start of their careers. For example, the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training has developed such guidelines, and the National Programme for Continuing Education for VET Teachers offer courses in guidance of (new) VET teachers. In 2020-21, 22 VET teachers are earning 30 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits in the “Programme Guidance for VET teachers” course. In Germany, where teachers already do extensive preparatory service (two years practical training as part of their initial training while teaching in a VET school), their induction after becoming a fully qualified teacher gives newly qualified teachers the option to ask training staff (from teacher training institutes or institutions for in-service teacher training) for advice, particularly about didactic and methodological problems (KMK, 2017[52]).

Some countries mandate induction programmes for new VET teachers. Since 2019, all teacher training graduates in Austria have had an obligatory one-year induction period (induction courses at a teacher training university; supervised by a mentor), as a result of the new training guidelines for student teachers implemented in 2015 and 2016 (PädagogInnenbildung NEU). VET teachers of general subjects have a one-year induction phase which takes place in the school after graduating from a master’s programme (Müller et al., 2018[53]). Such measures increase the need for resources for support and mentoring as well as for the training of mentors, and a 2018 survey of Austrian teacher training universities found that there were not enough trained mentors for the induction phase. In Turkey, a reformed six-month induction process was introduced in 2016 according to the Teacher Strategy Paper 2017-23, but much improvement needs to be made in terms of training and assigning mentors (Akyildirim and Durgun, 2019[25]).

Box 2.5. Teaching to Lead for career and technical education: Teacher preparation in the United States

In the United States, ITET requirements and delivery vary across states. The Teaching to Lead (T2L) teacher preparation programme is developed by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRC-CTE). This programme aims to build the capacity of new and early-career CTE teachers to plan instruction, engage students, manage classrooms, create standards-driven assessments and gain confidence in their craft. It can also take the place of traditional teacher preparation programmes or alternative certification models.

T2L professional development and coaching is delivered by trainers with teaching and leadership experience, which may be SREB staff, post-secondary faculty or SREB-certified trained district or state personnel. T2L participants receive as many as 200 hours of training before, during and after the first year of teaching, including:

Intensive instruction during the summer prior to the first year of teaching, delivered through mini lectures, individual and team assignments, teach-backs and facilitated discussions.
Quarterly professional development sessions that prepare teachers for the next nine weeks opportunities to share problems and solutions within a community of peers.
On-site coaching visits, on-site and virtual mentoring with experienced teachers and support from school leaders.
Intensive reflection and instructional planning during the summer after the first year of teaching.

Through this training, teachers learn: what to do on the first day, in the first week and during the first nine weeks of school; how to plan instruction that incorporates academic, technical and workplace readiness standards; manage a classroom of diverse students with personalised instruction; plan real-world assignments; motivate and support students; and assess student learning. In a typical implementation, teachers participate in two years of additional professional development and coaching on: (1) how to create authentic assignments that enhance students’ literacy, maths and science knowledge and skills by adopting instructional strategies from the NRCCTE at SREB’s research-based Literacy-in-CTE, Math-in-CTE and Science-in-CTE models; and (2) how to collaborate with their colleagues to plan and implement standards-driven, project-based learning units in their disciplines.

The T2L induction model has been shown to improve teacher competence and self-efficacy in a study of the model conducted by the NRCCTE at SREB. T2L can be used by states, districts or schools to support new CTE teachers in the first or second year of teaching and beyond. This programme also provides intensive, sector-specific, research-based professional development and coaching services for teachers.

Source: SREB (2020[54]), Teaching to Lead: Preparing CTE Teachers for Today’s Students, www.sreb.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/19v02_teaching_to_lead_revised.pdf?1583852932.

Attractive career pathways with targeted support encourage VET teachers to stay in the profession while allowing them to move into a senior or management-level position (see Chapter 5). In some countries the career structures for teachers in general programmes and VET programmes are the same, while in other countries, such as Estonia, teachers in VET who teach vocational subjects have a spate career structure, based on a distinct set of professional standards (Santiago et al., 2016[55]). In Slovenia, teachers’ career progression and salary increases are linked to teacher appraisal whereby school leaders evaluate the work of teachers at their school every year, carry out annual interviews, provide advice, and make recommendations for career advancement (OECD, 2016[56]).19 In the state of Queensland (Australia), TAFE teaching positions are graded as tutor, teacher, lead vocational teacher and educational team leader, each with a range of sub-categories and associated scale for wage increments (ICQ, 2016[57]). Chapter 5 discusses the mid-management career development in more detail.

Employing industry professionals as VET teachers

While increasing the attractiveness of the VET teaching profession can help prevent or tackle VET teacher shortages, attracting professionals from industry and graduates from higher education specialising in the relevant subject requires extra efforts. For example, regulatory barriers, such as restrictive entry qualification requirements or employment restriction, can discourage them from teaching in VET. In order to overcome such barriers, several recruitment and work arrangements for VET teachers can be promoted. In general, to facilitate the entry of such professionals into VET teaching, it is important to provide multiple and flexible ways to recruit and qualify VET teachers.

There are two main recruitment paths into VET teaching. One is through initial teacher education and training (ITET), the other is recruiting those with relevant vocational skills, with or without a certain level of qualifications. While recruiting ITET graduates is a typical and traditional way of recruiting teachers in both general education and VET (see Chapter 3), recruitment through alternative channels is often more common in VET. For example in Sweden, all school teachers should be certified, and only these teachers can have permanent employment and are allowed to set grades independently. In regards to VET teachers, however, the Education Act permits an exception: non-certified teachers in VET can have permanent employment and set grades independently if certified teachers are unavailable. Providing opportunities to develop pedagogical knowledge and practice (and ultimately obtain a teaching qualification) after starting to teach can also be an attractive option for those who only have vocational qualifications or industry experience without such qualifications. Flexible work arrangements such as part-time teaching and co-teaching with fully qualified teachers can also help industry professionals to combine working in industry, training as teachers and teaching in VET. Such arrangements can also be further facilitated through collaboration between VET institutions and industry.

Efforts to attract industry professionals are worthwhile, as there are numerous benefits to having teachers with industry experience, other than tackling VET teacher shortages. First, they can bring up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills from industry. Second, they can use their professional networks to facilitate their students’ work-based learning as well as strengthening connections between industry and VET. Third, they can support other VET teachers who do not have direct or up-to-date industry knowledge and experience, helping to improve the overall quality of VET provision and encouraging innovation and the use of advanced technology in VET. Fourth, they can fill gaps in VET provision in order to meet rapidly changing labour-market demand. For example, industry professionals can teach the skills needed in emerging occupations that have no established VET curricula or VET teaching qualifications or training.

Many countries recognise the importance of industry professionals and actively try to attract them to the VET sector. For example, the 2018 survey of State CTE Directors in the United States found that 98% of directors said that increasing access to industry experts is a high priority in their state. This reflects that the VET teacher shortage in the United States is often considered to be a shortage of industry experts in secondary education (Advance CTE, 2018[58]). Some countries have initiatives or policies in place to target specific groups to enter the teaching profession, such as migrants, retirees or military veterans (Box 2.6).

Box 2.6. Recruitment of specific population groups to the VET teaching workforce

England: Further Forces – recruit and retrain Armed Forces Service Leavers to teach technical subjects

Further Forces was devised to recruit military service leavers with relevant technical knowledge, skills and experience to be trained as teachers in the FE sector, as part of wider efforts to address teacher shortages in relevant subject/skill areas (particularly STEM subjects). The programme was launched in July 2017, supported by the government through grant funding to the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), which oversees the programme in partnership with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. In autumn 2017, the government provided additional grant funding for the programme, with a target of recruiting 210 service leavers by July 2020. In total around 200 service leavers were recruited onto the programme. Of these recruits, 15% have now completed their training, 60% remain in training (with the last due to complete in summer 2022), and 25% have withdrawn.

Source: Education and Training Foundation (n.d.[59]), Further Forces, www.et-foundation.co.uk/supporting/support-teacher-recruitment/further-forces; Stanwix (2017[60]), Further forces programme launched, www.gatsby.org.uk/education/latest/further-forces-programme-launched.

Sweden: Recognition of prior learning for migrants

Recognition of prior learning for qualified migrant workers or those with relevant teaching experience can facilitate their entry into VET teaching. Sweden established a fast-track scheme during the humanitarian crisis to enable migrants who have relevant teaching experience to quickly be able to teach effectively while meeting standards. This is done through recognising their skills and qualifications earned in their home country and topping up the specific host country skills or other skills needed to become a teacher (Jeon, 2019[61]).

United States: Re-employment of retirees

Oregon has legislation (H.B. 4012, until 30 June 2023) that enables retirees in the Public Employees Retirement System to be re-employed as VET teachers without losing their retirement benefits (ACTE and Advance CTE, 2019[44]).

The extent to which industry professionals work as VET teachers is not known

There are no precise and comprehensive internationally comparable data on the extent to which industry professionals are working in the VET sector. Two types of proxy measures can provide some insight into this recruitment pathway, however. The first estimate is based on the share of VET teachers who have a second job, using the EU-LFS. According to this estimate, about 13% of VET teachers on average in European OECD countries work both in the VET sector and elsewhere, ranging from 27% in Latvia to 2% in Luxembourg (Figure 2.15, Panel A). In most countries, VET teachers are more likely to combine work and teaching than both secondary education teachers and all tertiary-educated workers. However, while this figure captures VET teachers who currently combine work in the VET sector with a different job, it does not cover those whose main job is in industry but who have a second job in VET teaching, nor those who came from industry but are currently working full-time as VET teacher.

A second estimate can be made based on the qualifications of VET teachers. The majority of countries (with available data) require VET teachers to have teaching qualifications of at least ISCED Level 5 (short-cycle tertiary) or above (Annex Table 2.A.1. ). VET teachers whose highest educational attainment was ISCED Level 4 (post-secondary non-tertiary) or below are therefore likely to have been recruited through alternative channels. Based on this estimate, one in five VET teachers across OECD countries may have been recruited based on their industry experience or vocational qualifications (Figure 2.15, Panel B). Country differences are large, with the share of VET teachers with their highest educational attainment at or below ISCED Level 4 ranging from only 1% in Greece to almost 60% in Italy. In reality, the incidence of recruitment through alternative channels is probably higher than this estimate, given that: (1) industry professionals who work as VET teachers might still have higher levels of education without having a teaching qualification; and (2) those recruited through alternative channels may have obtained the necessary qualification after becoming a VET teacher. On the other hand, qualification requirements might have changed over time, and teachers who entered the teaching profession years ago might have only needed lower qualification than the current requirements for new entrants.

Figure 2.15. Proxy measures suggest that it is fairly common for industry professionals to work as VET teachers

The 2018 TALIS data also provide information on industry professionals in the teaching profession. As shown in Chapter 1, VET teachers tend to have more work experience that is not related to education and teaching than general education teachers. For example, in Denmark and Sweden VET teachers have on average more than 10 years of work experience outside of teaching, while this is only 5-6 years for general education teachers. Only in Turkey do VET teachers have very limited work experience outside of teaching on average, at roughly the same level as general education teachers.

Evidence from England also suggests that many VET teachers have industry backgrounds. Around 72% of teachers and leaders in independent training providers (ITPs) and 64% of those in adult and community learning (ACLs) providers had experience outside of the education and training sector, while this was only the case for 39% of teachers and leaders in sixth form colleges (SFCs). In ITPs, 14% at the time of the survey also held a job outside of education, rising to 18% in ACLs but only 3% in SFCs (IFF Research, 2020[6]). This is in line with the findings from the 2018 College Staff Survey, which found that 64% of teachers in FE colleges had worked in industry before becoming a teacher, and that this was most likely among teachers of sales, marketing and procurement (88%); hair and beauty (87%); and agriculture (86%). More than one in six teachers (17%) were also working in industry (not necessarily related to subjects they taught in) at the time of the survey, and this was most common among teachers of hair and beauty (31%); creative and design (30%); and agriculture (29%) (Thornton et al., 2018[4]).

There are a range of flexible pathways into VET teaching

How VET teachers are recruited (Box 2.7) and what level of qualification is required varies across countries (Annex Table 2.A.1. ) – with some countries imposing stronger restrictions or requirements than others. For example, in those countries where VET teachers are civil servants or permanent employees (e.g. Austria, Germany, Japan and Korea), VET teachers have to pass one or more teaching qualification exam, for which they have to complete initial teacher education and training (including practical training in some cases). In Denmark, England, Northern Ireland and Sweden, VET providers are the employers of their teachers and have autonomy over recruitment, which means that qualification requirements may vary, and in the case of England there is no minimum qualification. In the United States, requirements vary according to the state and the route into CTE. In Washington state, for example, VET teachers can apply for the Initial Career and Technical Educator Certificate (the first level certificate) if they have completed either the university route (bachelor’s degree, WEST-E test, work experience and other requirements), or the business and industry route with verified required experience for each CTE area.

In some countries, VET teachers can start teaching without a teaching qualification, but they are required or encouraged to obtain the relevant qualification while working. They are hired based on an occupational qualification or their work experience. For example, in Denmark, VET teachers can achieve the required level of teaching qualification while teaching. The same is true in some states in the United States. In England, while there are no legal qualification requirements for teaching in FE, in practice FE providers often expect VET teachers – who frequently come from industry – to have, or work towards, a pedagogical diploma that is equivalent to ISCED Level 5 or higher. This varies depending on provider.20

Qualification requirements may also vary across different levels and types of VET programmes within a country. For example, in Denmark, in more theoretically oriented VET programmes (higher technical examination [højere teknisk eksamen or HTX] and combined vocational and general upper secondary leaving qualification [EUX]), VET teachers are required to have a bachelor’s degree, while in more practically-oriented VET (EUD), industry professionals with at least five years of industry experience can start teaching without a pedagogical diploma (but have to obtain one later). EUD teachers have longer teaching hours but lower salaries than HTX and EUX teachers and are thus often more difficult to recruit.

Box 2.7. How teachers are recruited: Entry to the profession and professional status

Germany

Depending on the Länder, the application of newly qualified teachers should be sent to the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in the specific Land or to the school supervisory authority responsible (in some cases, to a specific school). Their probation period (preparatory service) is usually from two (in the higher service) or three years (in the senior service) up to a maximum of five years.1 Public school teachers in Germany are usually civil servants who are employed by the Länder. There are exceptions, where teachers are employed as salaried employees on the basis of fixed-term or open-ended employment contracts. This form of employment may be used in order to provide replacements for teaching staff who are on leave or where the requirements for civil servant status are not met. In two Länder (Berlin and Sachsen) teachers are only recruited as salaried employees, and have a six-month probationary period (KMK, 2017[52]).

Denmark

Principals in VET institutions have autonomy over teacher recruitment. The education ministry is not involved in teacher recruitment procedures, and teachers are not civil servants entering the system through tests. VET teachers are mostly full time, and permanent employees of VET institutions. Part-time teachers often have no formal pedagogical qualifications, but are well respected within their fields of work and are able to ensure that VET students acquire knowledge which is up to date with developments in their respective trades (Andersen and Kruse, 2016[62]).

England

Each VET provider recruits its own teachers. Candidates with work experience and/or relevant qualifications in a trade can apply directly for teaching vacancies and then train – on a voluntary basis – for a teaching qualification on the job, if their employer supports them (National Careers Service, 2020[26]). It is also possible for trainee teachers to undertake pre-employment training, which is typically delivered by universities.

Japan

Prefectural Boards of Education select and distribute teachers to each school. School principals have no autonomy over teacher recruitment and the education ministry is not involved in teacher recruitment procedures. Teachers are civil servants who enter the system through tests and they usually stay in the profession until retirement.

Table 2.1. The recruitment and professional status of VET teachers vary across countries
Country	Main recruiter/employer	Professional status: civil servant	Recruitment criteria	Recruitment process
Austria	Selected by the headmasters of the respective schools and employed by the regional school boards (Bildungsdirektionen).	Permanent employees.	Set by the recruiter.	Regional education boards or provincial governments.
Denmark	VET school principal.	No but mostly full time, and permanent employees.	Set by the recruiter.	Decentralised at the school level.
England (UK)	VET providers (FE sector).	No The same general employment law applies to all teachers.	Set by each VET provider.	Teachers apply (through an open recruitment process) for vacancies advertised directly by individual VET providers.
Germany	Education ministry or the school supervisory authorities (in some Länders, schools).	Usually yes: permanent employee at public schools Salaried employees in Berlin and Sachsen.	Job vacancies and aptitude, qualifications and record of achievement.	Centralised in the Land; by application by a fully qualified teacher.
Japan	Prefectural boards of education.	Yes	Through exams, possibly with interviews by board of education or school.	Centralised in prefecture.
Northern Ireland (UK)	VET providers (FE colleges).	No	Set by VET providers based on 2009 professional standards, endorsed by the NI government.	Open recruitment process.
Sweden	VET providers.	No, but mostly permanent employees	Qualifications, work experience.	Municipality or VET provider.
Slovenia	VET schools.	Yes	State professional exam.
United States	Varies across states.
Source: OECD consultation with countries. KMK (2017[52]), The Education System in the Federal Republic of Germany 2016/2017, www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/pdf/Eurydice/Bildungswesen-engl-pdfs/teachers.pdf; Andersen and Kruse (2016[62]), Vocational education and training in Europe – Denmark, www.kp.dk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/vocational-education-and-training-in-europe-denmark.pdf; Eurydice (2020[63]), Teachers and Education Staff (United Kingdom - Northern Ireland), https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/teachers-and-education-staff-91_en; OECD (2016[56]), Education Policy Outlook: Slovenia, www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm.

← 1. According to the career structures for civil servants, teachers are classified under either the higher service (gehobener Dienst) [Grundschulen and Hauptschulen as well as at Realschulen] or the senior service (höherer Dienst) [Gymnasien and vocational schools].

Diverse entry pathways can encourage individuals with relevant experience and practical skills to become VET teachers

Restrictive qualification requirements may create barriers to attracting industry professionals into the VET sector. In the United States, relaxed qualification requirements are considered to be a tool to smooth inflows from industry into teaching in VET. For example, 15 states recently passed CTE teacher certification or development policies to address the recruitment and certification, as well as the preparation and professional development, of CTE faculty and staff (ACTE and Advance CTE, 2019[44]). Ohio grants alternatively licensed CTE teachers a four year teaching license known as an Alternative Resident Educator license (Zirkle, Jeffery and Shrewe, 2019[64]). Missouri created a one-year teaching certificate for visiting scholars from industry who are part of a business-education partnership and have relevant education credentials (Minnesota Department of Education, 2017[65]). A recent law in Michigan allows non-certified, non-endorsed individuals to teach in certain VET programmes 21 as long as they meet certain requirements, such as having acquired 2 years of professional experience in the relevant subject area during the past 10 years (ACTE and Advance CTE, 2019[44]). The impact of these measures remains to be seen, but in the context of restrictive and somewhat complicated licensing structures and certification policies (e.g. VET teachers needing to complete state-approved programmes to obtain a teacher certificate), such flexibility can encourage mobility between industry and VET teaching (Jacques and Potemski, 2014[8]). In Japan, industry professionals with relevant experience may acquire a special or temporary teacher licence without going through the official exam when they are proven to have relevant skills and experience. Special part-time lecturers, who can be recruited from industry, do not need a teacher licence. A subject-related bachelor’s degree with additional credit related to teaching can also lead to a teacher licence.

Flexible pathways to obtaining teaching qualifications may also be helpful for meeting new labour-market demand, especially when there are not yet any relevant teaching qualifications or training for VET teachers, as in the example of Korea (Box 2.8).

Box 2.8. Relaxing qualification requirements in Korea to meet new labour-market demands

In Korea, teachers usually acquire teacher qualifications through examinations, but new measures are planned to facilitate multiple channels to recruit industry professionals. In its Plan for Vocational High School Support and Employment Promotion 2020, the Korean government is planning to adjust teacher retraining and (re)qualification to meet new labour-market demands, which may result in a revision of the teacher qualification examination decree.

The plan includes permitting individuals with relevant national technical qualifications (industrial engineer or higher) to teach vocational subjects relevant to emerging industries that do not yet have a relevant teacher qualification (e.g. industries related to new technologies such as autonomous driving, drones or artificial intelligence). A fast-track teacher training programme is also to be introduced for industrial experts in fields that have no established teacher training course, in order to meet the demand for skills in new industries. This fast-track training will allow the superintendent of education to issue teacher qualifications, which otherwise would generally be obtained through an exam. It can also allow industry experts who are specialists in emerging technology, such as robotics or the Internet of Things – areas where there are currently no qualified VET teachers –, to be employed as “industry-academic adjunct teacher” while awarding them VET teacher certifications. VET graduates who have worked more than three years in industry will be eligible to obtain VET teacher certifications. The country is also planning to allow VET schools more autonomy to hire qualified teachers based on labour-market needs.

Source: Korean Government (2020[66]), Plan for Vocational High School Support and Employment Promotion, www.gov.kr/portal/ntnadmNews/2167641.

Attracting experienced professionals from industry requires a good balance between flexibility and standards that ensure high-quality teaching and pedagogical innovations. While the qualifications of VET teachers are standardised to some degree in many countries (Cedefop, 2016[67]), these standards often vary across localities, occupations and subjects (Zirkle, 2019[68]). In other countries, qualifications are not standardised at all and depend instead on decisions made by each VET institution. This lack of standardisation is not surprising given the mix of skills and experience professionals need to deliver effective VET. Revising standards may be a challenge in many countries, as this would involve discussion and co-ordination among a range of VET stakeholders, and any revisions must take into account possible consequences for the supply and teaching ability of VET teachers.

In order to facilitate the recruitment and (re-)qualification of VET teachers, some countries may need to harmonise qualification requirements for VET teachers across regions and different levels of VET programmes or institutions. For example, in the United States, both vocational and pedagogical qualification requirements and structures vary from state to state, limiting VET teachers’ mobility between states as well as between VET and industry. In Australia, although the majority of VET is carried out within Registered Training Organisations, VET also takes place in upper secondary schools. School teachers who teach VET in schools (where it is not outsourced to RTOs) are generally subject to the same qualification regimes as other school teachers, which vary by state and territory (ACDEVEG’s response to the OECD questionnaire).

Ideally, industry professionals – or those who enter VET teaching with relevant skills but without the necessary teaching qualifications (e.g. recent graduates) – should be provided with pedagogical training. For example, in Sweden, as mentioned above, non-certified VET teachers can be permanently employed in exceptional circumstances but VET providers are obliged to ensure that these teachers have the necessary knowledge of school curricula and access to in-service training. VET teachers in Denmark are not required to have a pedagogical qualification prior to starting employment, but should begin the vocational pedagogical diploma education no more than one year after being hired and complete it within six years. In Finland, the requirements for vocational teaching qualifications are relatively restrictive, at ISCED Level 6 (a bachelor’s degree or equivalent) or higher, often taking 6-7 years to obtain, followed by at least 3 years of relevant work experience. However, pedagogical qualification requirements are relatively achievable (60 ECTS or one year of full-time study), which makes it more manageable for industry professionals to complete the necessary training, leading to 93% of VET teachers in Finland being qualified in 2019 (Finnish Board of Education, 2020[69]). Chapter 3 discusses VET teacher training in depth, suggesting that countries provide flexible, modular ITET which can enable industry professionals or graduates who have no experience or no pedagogical training to obtain teaching qualifications and competencies without going through a full ITET programme.

Attracting more industry professionals to teach in VET while working in industry has many benefits

Flexible arrangements can help practitioners combine teaching with working in industry

Industry practitioners recruited into VET can combine part-time teaching with continuing to work in their industry. Part-time work can be attractive, as it offers flexibility not only to those who want to combine their teaching responsibilities with other jobs, but also those who have other reasons for preferring not to work full time. In fact, for many, a relatively flexible work schedule is a reason for becoming a VET teacher. According to the 2018 TALIS data (Figure 2.16), a flexible working schedule was the most commonly reported reason for becoming a VET teacher (68% of respondents) across the countries with available data, followed by a reliable income (66%), job security (62%), and a steady career path (56%). Moreover, VET teachers were more likely to be attracted to the profession by the flexible working hours than general education teachers (60%).

Figure 2.16. Flexible work schedules are an important reason to become a VET teacher

Several countries make intensive use of part-time VET teachers. For example, 60% of VET teachers in Switzerland, and 58% in the Netherlands, are part time although both countries have even higher shares of part-time general education teachers (Figure 2.17). Shares of part-time vocational teachers are also significant in France (37%), Germany (35%), England and the United Kingdom more widely (35%), and Italy (34%), more so than among general education teachers. Sweden (20%), Estonia (18%), Denmark (13%), Spain (12%) and Finland (7%) have a relatively small share of part-time vocational teachers, but the shares are also smaller for general education teachers (Figure 2.17). Those who work part time do so mostly for family or personal reasons or in order to participate in education and training, according to EU-LFS 2017-19 data. However, in France (50%), Greece (73%), Italy (54%) and Spain (71%), the majority of part-time VET teachers were working this way because they could not find a full-time job (Figure 2.18).

Figure 2.17. VET teachers are more likely to work part time than general education teachers

The share of part-time teachers may vary according to the type of VET institution, and the teachers’ gender, qualifications and subject taught. For example, in England, about three-fifths of contracts issued by ITPs and SFCs were full-time (64% for ITPs and 60% for SFCs), compared to around one in five (18%) for ACL providers. ACL providers issued a much greater share of sessional or flexible-hour contracts (53% versus 13% for ITPs and 3% for SFCs) (IFF Research, 2020[6]). This reflects the nature of their provision, which is often delivered as evening classes or short part-time courses. Female VET teachers are more likely to work part time than male ones (Annex Table 2.A.2). Part-time VET teachers tend to be less qualified: for example, in Finland 86% of full-time teachers of vocational subjects were qualified, compared to 61% of part-time teachers in 2016. The proportion of qualified teachers also varies by field in Finland: hospitality and catering, tourism, health and welfare, and humanities and education had the highest share of part-time teachers while technology and transport had the lowest share (Kumpulainen, 2017[71]). However, even when controlling for personal and job characteristics, probit regression results using EU-LFS 2019 data suggest that VET teachers in European countries have a higher probability of working part-time (9 percentage points), having a temporary contract (8 percentage points) and having a second job (4 percentage points) when compared to general education teachers (Annex Table 2.A.3); and similarly to tertiary-educated workers (Annex Table 2.A.4).

Figure 2.18. Working part time is compatible with other responsibilities

The spectrum of part-time VET teaching is wide. It includes part-time adjunct faculty who work at multi-campus VET institutions but aspire to a full-time position, and industry professionals who teach in the evening or weekends in an adult VET institution or who teach full-time for a full semester (see Box 2.9 for country examples). In the OECD stakeholder interviews, several providers noted they hire part-time teachers from industry to overcome shortages, reduce costs, increase the flexibility of their VET provision and to bring in up-to-date knowledge from industry. Efforts may be needed so that these advantages do not become disadvantages, such as making it harder to organise teaching timetables, or provide teachers with attractive wages, employment security or training opportunities. First, the teaching quality of these industry professionals who work as part-time VET teachers needs be ensured. Despite their greater levels of practical experience, instructor-practitioners can enter the field of teaching inadequately trained in pedagogy (Johnson, 2017[72]). Currently, specific policy is lacking to help VET institutions take advantage of the benefits of using instructor-practitioners, or to set quality standards for these teachers and improve their qualification levels (e.g. the Netherlands (Koop-Spoor et al., 2020[73]) and the United States (Johnson, 2017[72])).

Second, the quality of their working conditions also need to be ensured. Industry professionals hired as part-time teachers are often treated as a temporary replacement rather than an invited expert who will continue to bring added value to the VET sector, as is the case in the Netherlands (Koop-Spoor et al., 2020[73]). The employment status of part-time teachers may not be as stable as full-time teachers. For example, analysis using EU-LFS data shows that on average across European countries, part-time teachers with another job have a greater probability of having a temporary contract, than either full-time teachers or part-time teachers with no other job (Annex Table 2.A.2). According to the 2019 OECD Employment Outlook, temporary and part-time workers also have more difficulties accessing job-related training (OECD, 2019[74]). Further analysis may be necessary to see to what extent part-time VET teachers benefit from the same opportunities to update their relevant skills and enjoy the same employment security as part-time teachers in general education.

Box 2.9. Industry professionals teaching VET part-time

Australia: Practitioner-VET teacher

The Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group has recently advocated for a new role of “practitioner-VET teacher”. These people would be full professionals in both VET and industry. This would recognise the fact that straddling industry and VET has advantages, and would enable people to continue careers in both. The Vocational Education Group has proposed that this should be piloted with major companies.

The Netherlands: Hybrid teachers

In the Netherlands, teachers who combine their teaching job with a job in another field are referred to as hybrid teachers. It is estimated that there are around 50 000 such teachers . Several initiatives have been set up to encourage and facilitate hybrid teaching. For example, the Brainport Eindhoven region, in collaboration with various educational institutions and companies, has started a pilot to give technicians a taste of hybrid teaching for 4-8 hours a week. Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and ABN-AMRO conducted a similar pilot for bank employees in 2020. However, its use has been limited. According to a survey, general and VET upper secondary schools do not have human resources (HR) policies on hiring hybrid teachers (but it is “more a matter of coincidence”), which means there is no distinction between a teacher who chooses to work part time or a hybrid teacher who chooses to combine two jobs (Koop-Spoor et al., 2020[73]).

The United States: Adjunct VocEd faculty

Community colleges increasingly hire part-time adjunct faculty to teach in VET courses. For example, in California, the expansion of VET programmes has increased the demand for highly specialised faculty who teach part time while remaining professionally active in their field. These teachers can have up to 67% of the paid workload of their full-time counterparts (Johnson, 2017[72]). Similarly, in Colorado community colleges have increased their hiring of part-time adjunct instructors by 44% between 2007 and 2015 (compared to 17% for full-time faculty), in part due to increasing delivery of VET courses. This follows national trends in college and university instructional employment over the past decades, driven by declining financial support. Adjunct faculty earn about USD 68 a week (or USD 21 288 annually), compared to an average of USD 188 a week (or USD 53 000-57 000 annually) for full-time faculty (Mumme, 2018[75]).

Industry professionals can also be active in VET institutions without formally being considered a VET teacher. This might be the case, if they teach only a relatively limited number of hours per year. They might (co-)teach part of a course or be invited to give guest lectures or practical demonstrations. This allows VET providers to bring in relevant and up-to-date industry experience in a flexible way, and can fill knowledge and skills gaps. Countries can support such flexible arrangements by creating a flexible regulatory environment, putting in place financial incentives or providing relevant training for professionals wishing to engage in such activities. In Flanders (Belgium), a two-year trial “dual teaching” project was launched in 2021 (Essenscia, 2020[76]). Within the project, professionals can teach in VET for a few hours per week on a temporary basis, in fields where schools have difficulty finding qualified VET teachers. These professionals can start teaching after a three-day pedagogical training programme (those who already have a teacher qualification are exempted). The training programme is financed by the government and the European Social Fund. Participating professionals continue to receive their normal wage, paid by their regular employer, who receives a lump sum subsidy per teaching hour from the government. In the Netherlands, individuals with specific expertise or knowledge can work as guest lecturers in upper secondary education, without having the required teaching qualification, for up to 160 hours per week (Rijksoverheid, n.d.[77]). The guest lecturer is the responsibility of the teacher. This type of teaching is mostly used for VET, as stricter rules apply in general education.

Increasing collaboration between VET providers and industry should be win-win

Strong relationships between VET institutions and industry are important not only to ensure the quality of VET provision but also to help supply and develop VET teachers. As discussed above, VET institutions can bring in industry professionals on short assignments or part-time VET teachers. VET teachers can also spend some time in industry as part of their professional development (see Chapter 3).

Collaboration between industry and the VET sector should be win-win. When local companies allow their employees to collaborate with a local VET institution (e.g. teaching there part time), they could also benefit in terms of recruiting apprentices or new VET graduates equipped with the skills they need. For instance, recognising such benefits and as a means to ease VET teacher shortages, a business-education partnership in Missouri, in the United States, allows industry professionals who are part of this partnership and have relevant education credentials to obtain a one-year teaching certificate. Policies that permit in-company trainers to easily become VET teachers and vice versa, can also help attract industry professionals into the teaching profession and promote the exchange of personnel between industry and the VET sector, as happens in Germany and Portugal (Box 2.10).

Box 2.10. Enabling in-company trainers to become VET teachers and vice versa

Portugal

In Portugal, in-company trainers can become VET teachers by obtaining a dedicated certificate. The National Agency for Qualification and VET (ANQEP) and the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training developed a set of standards for the training of tutors, in order to give these professionals access to a Certificate of Pedagogical Competencies. Tutors can also obtain the certificate through a process of Recognition, Validation and Certification of Competencies of Trainers, in order to recognise, validate and certify the pedagogical competences associated with the trainer activity. Upon obtaining this certificate, these professionals can apply to VET schools to teach vocational subjects, namely the Short Term Training Units in VET Education (ANQEP responses to OECD questions).

Germany: Certified initial and continuing education pedagogue

In Germany, in-company VET trainers or employees who are active in in-company continuing VET, can obtain an Initial and Continuing Education Trainer certificate (geprüfter Aus- und Weiterbildungspädagoge). These trainers are qualified to support their company in finding and selecting new apprentices and developing training provision and are also involved in organising examinations and quality management.

A more advanced qualification is the Certification of Vocational Education Trainers (geprüfter Berufspädagoge), which is targeted at certified initial and continuing education trainers, industrial master craftsmen, crafts and trades master craftsmen, and administration specialists but also university graduates. It aims to prepare them to work in a pedagogic managerial position with strategic educational tasks. These trainers plan, organise and implement educational processes and provide advice to and mentor learners and everyone else involved in the learning process. In addition, they shape educational processes beyond the individual environment of the learners.

Source: Hensen-Reifgens & Hippach-Schnei, (2015[78]), Supporting teachers and trainers for successful reforms and quality of VET – Germany, https://www.refernet.de/dokumente/pdf/Artikel_DE_Teachers%20and%20trainers.pdf.

Conclusion and policy recommendations

Many countries struggle to attract and retain VET teachers with relevant skills, which has translated into significant shortages. Despite a lack of comparative data, evidence suggests that many OECD countries are facing VET teacher shortages. An ageing VET teacher population could reinforce existing shortages in coming years if the supply of new teachers does not increase. Teacher shortages may hamper the sustainable provision of VETs, especially if they result in an increased reliance on teachers who are not well prepared for their role or a reduced VET offer.

The limited supply of VET teachers is driven by many factors, most of which are related to the limited attractiveness of the VET teaching profession in terms of salaries, workload and availability of financial incentives and career support compared to other occupations. Targeted financial incentives and support to encourage participation in initial teacher education and training could help attract new VET teachers, while offering career development support, in particular to new teachers, can help retain VET teachers.

Attracting industry professionals to teach in VET is another strategy to avoid or overcome VET teacher shortages. These industry professionals can bring practical skills and up-to-date industry knowledge to the classroom and strengthen co-operation between VET systems and the world of work. However, they often lack the necessary teaching qualifications and pedagogical skills, and therefore need access to flexible qualification and training opportunities. Countries may benefit from relaxing entry qualification requirements for industry professionals, and providing flexible alternatives to gaining required teaching qualifications. Moreover, flexible working arrangements could also make it easier for industry professionals to combine their job in industry with teaching responsibilities in VET.

Policy pointers for tackling VET teacher shortages

1.1. Increasing the attractiveness of teaching careers in VET by:

Providing targeted financial incentives and support for attracting and retaining VET teachers: Financial incentives and support can be used to attract individuals to initial teacher education and training (ITET), encourage industry professionals to enter the VET teaching workforce, and motivate VET teachers to stay in the profession. Effective incentives and support include bonus and wage incentives for VET teacher recruitment and retention as well as financial support for ITET, and these can be targeted at shortage subjects or sectors.
Offering career development support to improve the retention of VET teachers: VET teachers receiving targeted career development support are more likely to stay in the profession. Attrition among new VET teachers can be reduced by assigning them to less challenging working environments and reducing their workload and providing mentoring opportunities and structured induction programmes. Attractive career pathways with targeted career support encourages more experienced teachers to stay in the profession while allowing them to move into a senior or management-level position.

1.2. Providing flexible pathways into VET teaching by:

Relaxing entry requirements of teaching qualifications for industry professionals: Relaxed entry qualification requirements can smooth the path from industry into teaching in VET but should not come at the expense of quality. Several countries attract industry professionals to enter the teaching profession without the required teaching qualification, but still require or encourage them to obtain the qualification afterwards. Relaxing entry qualification requirements for industry professionals can be particularly helpful in fields for which no relevant teaching qualification or training for VET teachers exist yet, to meet rapidly changing labour market demand.
Providing flexible pathways to obtain necessary teaching qualifications: Flexibility and support to help industry professionals obtain necessary teaching qualifications is crucial. For example, countries can provide flexible, modular initial teacher education and training (ITET), which allows prospective VET teachers to focus on skills and knowledge gaps without having to go through a full ITET programme.

1.3. Attracting more industry professionals to teach in VET by:

Facilitating flexible VET teaching that can be combined with working in industry: Flexible arrangements such as part-time teaching and co-teaching with fully qualified teachers (e.g. guest lectures or practical demonstrations) can help industry professionals to combine working in industry and teaching in VET. To fully take advantage of the benefits of these flexible arrangements, the teaching quality and job quality of these industry professionals with teaching roles need be ensured.
Increasing collaboration between VET providers and industry: Flexible work arrangements for industry professionals to teach in VET can also be further promoted and facilitated through close collaboration between VET institutions and industry. Industry and the VET sector can co-ordinate in terms of exchanging personnel between industry and the VET sector, and this can be facilitated, for example, by making it easier for in-company trainers to become VET teachers and vice versa.

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Annex 2.A. Technical information

Annex Table 2.A.1. Minimum qualification requirements for VET teachers by regulation
	Vocational qualification/ experience	Pedagogical qualification	Converted full-time training years necessary to become VET teachers
Australia	Industry qualifications is at or above the level of the qualification which the VET teacher is teaching. VET teachers are normally required to have substantial industry experience.	Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (a competency-based qualification). A substantial minority of VET teachers have a higher level pedagogical qualification.	-
Austria	Proof of completion of several years of professional practice	A bachelor’s degree from a university college for teacher training. A master’s degree for VET teachers of general subjects.	-
Belgium (French Community)	-	For upper secondary level, short type courses (Haute Ecole): associate bachelor’s of lower secondary education (with vocational orientation)	-
Canada	For instructors of trades, completion of apprenticeship training and industry or trade certification are required. Additional courses in teaching or a provincial teaching certificate may be required.	Employment requirements for college and other vocational instructors 1 include a bachelor's degree, a college diploma or demonstrated expertise in the field of instruction (a master's degree in the field of instruction or a certificate, diploma or degree in adult education may be required).	-
Denmark	The minimum length of work experience is not specified by law but VET teachers are required to have relevant professional experience (e.g. general teachers cannot become VET teachers). In general, industry professionals with five years of relevant experience can teach in VET programmes.	No requirements for teachers to have a pedagogical qualification prior to starting employment. They must gain knowledge at secondary level in two or three general subjects within three years of being hired. They must have passed a pedagogical education at bachelor’s level/diploma level (60 ECTS at EQF Level 6) within four years of being hired. They must have begun the vocational pedagogical diploma education (DEP) within one year after being hired and complete within six years.	-
England (UK)	No specific requirement, but 64% of FE teachers and 62% of ITP teachers had industry experience (CSS 2018; ETP 2018). Generally, employers expect teachers to have educational attainment one or two ISCED levels higher than the vocational level at which they teach.	No specific requirement but in general ISCED Level 5 qualification (120 credits) is recommended. Professional status, such as Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (professional certification for post-16 education and training) and Qualified Teacher Status (professional certification for school teachers)’ is available on a voluntary basis.	-
Finland (OECD Questionnaire)	ISCED Levels 6-7 in the vocational sector or highest possible other qualification in the sector. At least three years’ work experience in a relevant field after their higher education qualification. Then they can apply for pedagogical studies.	A minimum of 60 ECTS of pedagogical studies at EQF Level 6 (equals one year of full-time study).	8 years
Germany	Vocational qualifications not required, but vocational subject knowledge is well integrated into pedagogical qualification. Two years through preparatory service (followed by the second exam) after ITET (followed by the first exam) and recruitment.	Bachelor’s/master’s.	6 years
Hungary	Relevant higher education degree and/or VET qualification may replace the pedagogical qualification requirements.	Relevant teacher qualification (bachelor or master degree depending on the type of VET providers and subjects)	- General subjects: 3-5 years - Vocational subjects: 5-8 years
Hungary		Not required for VET teachers of practical subjects.	1-3 years
Japan 2	Not required. - Subject-related bachelor’s degree with additional credit related to teaching can also lead to teachers’ licence; - Industry professionals with relevant experiences may acquire the special or temporary teachers’ licence. - Special part-time lecturers do not need a licence.	Specialised upper secondary schools: bachelor’s in teacher training with subject certification in universities or by passing the accreditation exam, leading to teachers’ licence.	4 years
Korea	Not required.	Bachelor’s in teacher training and/or by passing the accreditation exam, leading to a teacher license.	4 years
Netherlands	-	Bachelor’s degree in subject area (2^nd degree qualification), of which ¼ includes practical training. Pedagogical didactic certificate (PDG)	4 years
Northern Ireland (UK)	-	FE college teachers are required to hold an approved teaching qualification (can be obtained through pre-service or in-service training).	-
Norway	For a vocational teacher education: minimum 2 years of relevant work experience prior to the pedagogical studies. For a vocational practical pedagogical education: minimum 4 years of relevant work experience and 2 years of vocational college education or similar.	Either a vocational practical pedagogical education (60 ECTS) or a vocational teacher education (180 ECTS), depending on prior qualifications.	5-7 years
Slovenia	Teachers of VET practice: must have technical upper secondary education, pedagogical training, have passed the state professional exam, and have three years of relevant work experience.	Teachers of VET theory: must complete at least a three-year qualification at bachelor’s level (as opposed to five years of initial teacher education at master’s level for other teachers except pre-school teachers); have passed the state professional exam 3	3 years
Spain (ISCED Levels 3 and 5)	Bachelor’s degree (EQF level 6) or Diploma of Higher Technician (EQF level 5); competitive exam in the specialty.	Master’s degree in Pedagogy (EQF level 7) or specific pedagogic training for teachers who do not hold a university degree	5-6 years
Sweden	To enter into a teacher education programme, the professional’s knowledge and experience should be validated on Level 5.	Teacher certificate is required, which requires a Level 6 degree in teacher education, specifying the subject to teach (not required for teachers in higher VET). Non-certified VET teachers can be hired if the provider is unable to find a certified teacher. In that case, the teacher can obtain his or her degree while working.	4 years
Turkey	Professional bachelor’s degree should be followed by pedagogical training through a two semester programme.	Level 6 in teacher education with subject specialty.	4 years
Wales (UK)	-	Depending on the post, but Level 3-5 or above (e.g. PGCE), which requires bachelor’s degree	-
United States	Varies across states (business/industry CTE route). Work experience and tests. Alternative teacher certification allows those with a degree/diploma below a bachelor’s degree and work experience to enter the profession.	Varies across the states (university CTE route): usually bachelor’s degree in a state-approved programme followed by gaining state certification or licensing (which may require work experience and tests).	-
← 1. College and other vocational instructors include instructors who teach applied arts, academic, technical and vocational subjects to students at community colleges, CEGEPs, agricultural colleges, technical and vocational institutes, language schools and other college level schools. This unit group also includes trainers who are employed by private training establishments, companies, community agencies and governments to deliver internal training or development courses. College teachers who are heads of departments are included in this group (Statistics Canada, 2018[80]).
← 2. Regular license is awarded by the prefectural board of education with a national validity of 10 years. It can be obtained by completion of training by the university faculty of education or designated teacher training institutions or by passing the educational staff examination conducted by the prefectural board of education. It has two types at high school levels: a special training license (master degree with some years of teaching experience) and a first-class license (bachelor degree with extra credits or teaching experience for the teaching subject area or passed high school teacher qualification examination). 19.2% of high school teachers hold special training license and 79.8% a first-class license (0.3% second-class) in 2016. Special license is valid only within a prefecture for 10 years. Teaching certification is given to those who have specialised knowledge, experience or skills related to the subject they are in charge of. 0.1% of high school teachers hold this license in 2016. Temporary license is valid only within a prefecture for 3-6 years. It is awarded when they pass the education staff examination of the prefectural board of education, which is conducted only when it is not possible to hire a person with a regular license. 0.4% of high school teachers hold this license in 2016.
← 3. A general pedagogical course (mostly of one year) is intended for teachers whose initial education did not include any pedagogical content. Before entering the profession, teachers can follow a ten-month induction programme (a traineeship), with a mentor assigned to them, or they can apply for open-recruitment job positions where beginning teachers receive mentoring support. The induction phase prepares them to take the state professional examination to become fully qualified teachers (OECD, 2016[56]).
Source: OECD Questionnaire and other sources. Australia: inputs from ACDEVEG. Austria: Austrian Federal Ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs (2015[79]), VET schools and colleges in Austria: Information brochure of the General Directorate for Vocational Education and Training, Adult Education and School Sports. Canada: Statistics Canada (2018[80]), National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2011, www23.statcan.gc.ca; Northern Ireland (UK): Eurydice (2020[63]), Teachers and Education Staff, https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/teachers-and-education-staff-91_en; United States: (AdvanceCTE, 2013[81]), CTE Teacher Licensure Requirements: 50 States and District of Columbia, https://careertech.org/resource/CTE-teacher-licensure-requirements; Finland: Finnish National Agency for Education (2019[82]), Key Figures on Vocational Education and Training in Finland, www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/key_figures_on_vocational_education_and_training_in_finland.pdf; Slovenia: OECD, (2016[56]), Education Policy Outlook: Slovenia, www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm and Lenič, Mali and Šlander (2016[83]), Supporting teachers and trainers for successful reforms and quality of vocational education and training: mapping their professional development in the EU – Slovenia; and Turkey: Akyildirim and Durgun (2019[25]), Continuing Professional Development for Vocational Teachers and Trainers and Principals in Turkey 2018, www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2019-11/turkey_cpd18_22_october_2019_25-10.pdf.

Annex Table 2.A.2. Link between VET teacher’s (job) characteristics and their probability of working part-time, having a temporary contract, looking for another job and having a second job
Probit regression results (VET teachers)
	Part-time		Temporary				Looking for other job				Having a second job
			(i)		(ii)		(i)		(ii)
Working time arrangement (reference group: full-time)
Part-time, no other job	..				0.146	***			0.057	***	..
Part-time and other job	..				0.221	***			0.065	***	..

Education level (reference group: ISCED 6+)
ISCED 3 or below	0.048		0.062	**	0.049	*	-0.012		-0.014		-0.043	***
ISCED 4	0.026		0.005		0.002		-0.015		-0.017		0.011
ISCED 5	-0.058		-0.011		-0.013		0.059		0.067	*	-0.036

Age (reference group: 20-29)
<20	-0.148		-0.111		-0.061		0.067		0.076		.
30-39	-0.169	***	-0.276	***	-0.247	***	-0.044	*	-0.031		-0.008
40-49	-0.158	***	-0.315	***	-0.284	***	-0.022		-0.009		-0.005
50-59	-0.174	***	-0.354	***	-0.325	***	-0.016		-0.002		-0.040
60+	0.062		-0.270	***	-0.269	***	-0.071	***	-0.062	***	-0.073	***

Gender (reference group: male)
Female	0.211	***	0.019		-0.011		0.003		-0.010		-0.006

Number of obs.	4 611		4 076		4 076		4 346		4 346		4 541
Note: *Significant at 1%, 5%, * 10%. Country fixed effects included. All EU-LFS countries included except Norway, Bulgaria, Malta, Slovenia and Poland. Columns (ii) add controls for working time arrangement and multiple jobholders.
Source: Calculations using Eurostat (2020[21]), European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) 2017-19, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/microdata/labour-force-survey.

Annex Table 2.A.3. Difference between VET and general education teachers in the probability of working part-time, having a temporary contract, looking for another job and having a second job
Probit regression results (VET and general education teachers)
	Part-time		Temporary		Looking for other job		Having a second job
Teacher type (reference: general education teachers)
Vocational education teachers	0.088	***	0.075	***	0.020	***	0.041	***

Age (reference group: 20-29)
<20	0.061		0.008		0.015		-0.045
30-39	-0.031	*	-0.196	***	-0.010		-0.015
40-49	-0.042	**	-0.290	***	-0.012		-0.005
50-59	-0.071	***	-0.338	***	-0.020	**	-0.022
60+	0.046	**	-0.325	***	-0.038	***	-0.041	***

Gender (reference group: male)
Female	0.122	***	-0.004		-0.006		-0.032	***

Education level (reference group: ISCED 6+)
ISCED 3 or below	0.091	***	0.049	***	-0.010	*	-0.014
ISCED 4	0.007		0.026		-0.006		0.006
ISCED 5	-0.011		-0.007		0.024		-0.010

Number of observations	26 616		25 843		24 659		26 616
Note: *Significant at 1%, 5%, * 10%. Country fixed effects included. All EU-LFS countries included except Norway, Bulgaria, Malta, Slovenia and Poland.
Source: Calculations using Eurostat (2020[21]), European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) 2017-19, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/microdata/labour-force-survey.

Annex Table 2.A.4. Difference between VET teachers, general education teachers, and tertiary educated workers in the probability of working part-time, having a temporary contract, looking for another job and having a second job
Probit regression results (VET teachers, general education teachers and tertiary educated workers)
	Part-time		Temporary		Looking for other job		Having a second job
Worker type (reference: tertiary educated workers)
General education teachers	-0.017	***	0.017	***	-0.031	***	0.012	***
Vocational education teachers	0.073	***	0.066	***	0.010		0.040	***

Age (reference group: 20-29)
<20	0.254	***	0.155	***	0.024		0.003
30-39	-0.007	**	-0.145	***	-0.018	***	0.004	**
40-49	-0.006	*	-0.194	***	-0.034	***	0.008	***
50-59	-0.017	***	-0.212	***	-0.046	***	0.007	***
60+	0.176	***	-0.176	***	-0.064	***	0.006	***

Gender (reference group: male)
Female	0.188	***	0.020	***	0.003	**	0.002

Education level (reference group: ISCED 6+)
ISCED 3 or below	0.108	***	0.053	***	-0.017	*	-0.005
ISCED 4	0.017		0.011		-0.015		-0.007
ISCED 5	0.024	***	0.002		-0.001		-0.009	***

Number of observations	462 180		392 198		462 033		462 152
Note: *Significant at 1%, 5%, * 10%. Country fixed effects included. All EU-LFS countries included except Norway, Bulgaria, Malta, Slovenia and Poland. The group of tertiary educated workers includes as workers whose highest educational attainment is at ISCED level 5 or above and who do not work as VET or general education teacher.
Source: Calculations using Eurostat (2020[21]), European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) 2017-19, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/microdata/labour-force-survey. Effectively preparing and developing teachers in vocational education and training.

Notes

← 1. In Denmark, enrolment of all age students in upper secondary VET has decreased from 43% in 2013 (134 687) to 38% in 2018 (109 573).

← 2. While most countries collect data on the school workforce (e.g. the School Workforce Census in England), data collection on the VET workforce is currently limited.

← 3. In Australia, there are general education teacher shortages as well in specific geographic or subject areas.

← 4. “Examination need” indicates the number of people who need to be examined in order for the estimated recruitment need to be met with newly graduated qualified teachers.

← 5. e.g. due to limited capacity for training “which might need to start with the work being done within schools and colleges”; “the location of training providers in relation to employers, particularly in rural areas, meaning that employers had to either develop their own training programme” and “ the cost and duration of training”.

← 6. For ITPs, 23% and 8% had at least one vacancy in construction courses and engineering and manufacturing courses respectively. For further education colleges, the total reported vacancy numbers, including vacancies temporarily filled by supply staff, were reported relatively high in construction (260 or 5%), engineering and manufacturing (240 or 5%), legal, finance and accounting (40 or 5%), business and administrative (120 or 4%) and digital / IT (80 or 4%) (Thornton et al., 2018[4]; IFF Research, 2020[6]).

← 7. In Australia, the Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group recognises this.

← 8. The follow up survey covered 3 694 teachers and leaders from general FE and specialist FE colleges (excluding sixth form colleges and other types of FE provider) between April and June 2019, approximately 12 months after the 2018 survey.

← 9. RTOs include public providers of VET, known collectively as TAFE (Technical and Further Education) and around 500 other training providers including industry-based and private providers.

← 10. Exploratory research in England confirmed that secondary education teaching professionals are the most representative comparator group for FE teachers as a whole. However, it could not provide fully robust estimates of the pay levels for FE teachers or pay differentials between FE teachers and comparators due to limited data (Lake et al., 2018[19]).

← 11. Results from an OLS regression analysis among VET teachers and general education teachers across countries in 2014 SES data. The logarithm of monthly wages (of full-time teachers) is regressed on a dummy of teacher type, contract type (permanent, temporary and apprenticeship), gender, education level (4 groups), age (6 groups), tenure (5 groups), ownership (public versus private) and country fixed effects. The results show that vocational education teachers earn 3.8% lower wages than general education teachers per month, with this differences being statically significant at the 1% level. The regression includes 77 379 observations. Similar results are obtained when looking at hourly wages (and controlling for whether they work full time or part time) or annual wages (full-time teachers working at least 50 weeks in the reference year).

← 12. Results from an OLS regression of the logarithm of monthly wages (of full-time VET teachers) on contract type (permanent, temporary and apprenticeship), gender, education level (4 groups), age (6 groups), tenure (5 groups), ownership (public versus private) and country fixed effects. The regression includes all VET teachers in countries with available data in SES 2014 (21 771 observations). The results show that male VET teachers earn more than female VET teachers, and those with a permanent contract more than those with a temporary contract. Wages also increase with age and tenure. Higher educated teachers (ISCED 5 or above) have higher wages than those with an upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary degree.

← 13. The reasons why VET teachers in France have a higher level of salaries need to be further analysed.

← 14. Full-time teachers/tutors and leaders in sixth form colleges (SFCs) had higher salaries on average, than full-time teaching staff and leaders working in adult and community learning (ACL) providers and independent training providers (ITPs). This difference is driven by the level of qualifications, orientation of teaching subjects and work experience. For example, teachers/tutors in SFCs (which tend to teach more academic subjects) were the most likely to hold qualified teacher status and a teaching qualification at International Standard Classification in Education (ISCED) Level 7, or master’s level (86%). In contrast, the majority (64%) of teaching staff in ITPs (which tend to teach more VET subjects) had a teaching qualification at ISCED Levels 3 or 4 (upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary), and these teaching staff had a greater amount of industry experience. The most common highest teaching qualification among ACL teachers/tutors was at ISCED Level 7 (38%) (IFF Research, 2020[6]).

← 15. In ITPs, 31% of teaching staff were not satisfied with opportunities for career development, while this was the case for 48% of teaching staff in ACLs and 63% in SFCs. (IFF Research, 2020[6]).

← 16. Analysis by VET and general education teachers was limited. However, the analysis of three countries show the positive relationship between the desire to stay in the teaching profession and satisfaction with salary and the terms of the employment contract.

← 17. This used to only be offered to VET teachers, but has now been expanded to some subjects in general education track too.

← 18. Working in multiple schools could be the result of teachers taking advantage of opportunities for horizontal diversification in teaching careers, as they take on specific responsibilities across a number of schools in some education systems. However, working in more than one school increases the demands on teachers and takes time from class preparation, building long-term relationships with colleagues outside the classroom, collaboration with other teachers and other valuable activities. In addition, teachers working in multiple schools may not be doing so voluntarily, but because they are in a less senior and more precarious position.

← 19. As there are no specific national criteria for teacher quality, teachers’ appraisals are based on legislation that applies to all public servants and school leaders’ professional judgement.

← 20. In FE colleges, 93% of teachers held a teaching qualification, with 45% having an ISCED Level 7 qualification; 41% of teachers held teaching professional status; 64% of teachers had relevant industry experience (Thornton et al., 2018[4]). In SFCs, 81% of teachers/tutors held a teaching status, 86% were qualified to Level 7 and 36% had work experience outside of education. In contrast, 15% of teaching staff in ITPs held a teaching status, 64% were qualified to Level 3-4, and 62% had work experience outside of education (IFF Research, 2020[6]).

← 21. State (Perkins) approved and elective VET programmes and industrial technology programmes.

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