Latest data shows growing skills gaps in teaching – with warnings that pay alone won’t solve the problem

Education job applications fell in June as disputes continued across the sector and pay rises alone won’t solve the skills crisis according to new research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

The data provided by Broadbean Technology revealed that the number of people applying for education jobs in June fell 35% month-on-month as the disputes over pay and working conditions continued. The impact of recent strike action on skills shortages has become apparent with vacancies in the sector up 4% during the same period.

While the data reveals that salaries saw five consecutive months of increases between January and May 2023, the 4% decline month-on-month in June puts salaries last month at just 1.8% higher than the 18-month average. This is markedly below the rising inflation rates seen in the UK.

As Ann Swain, Global CEO at APSCo, explains, the data suggests that while the recently announced public sector pay increases will help, it won’t solve the education sector’s skills issue:

“The data shows that education recruitment continues to be difficult across the UK. With application per vacancy numbers stagnating and pay rises failing to keep up with rates of inflation, resourcing difficulties are only going to continue to increase.

“The recently announced public sector salary rises will certainly help address some of the issues in the sector, but skills shortages will still prevail without a more sustainable route to hiring teaching professionals.

“While longer-term solutions including skills development are needed, the more immediate crisis makes it critical that international talent is enticed into the country to fill resourcing gaps. Current visa requirements do not encourage this and should be reformed.”


Press Contact
Vickie Collinge
vickie@bluesky-pr.com
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About APSCo

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) is the trade association for the professional recruitment market. APSCo Global comprises APSCo Asia, APSCo Australia, APSCo Deutschland and APSCo United Kingdom as well as APSCo OutSource, the trade body for the RPO and MSP sectors.
Find out more: www.apscouk.org