Armidale Secondary College will receive immediate recruitment support from a specialist team to fill staffing vacancies at the school.
NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar announced the targeted support yesterday, after meeting with students, staff and the leadership team during a visit to the school on Tuesday, 12 September.
“We are in the middle of a national teaching workforce shortage and we understand some schools, particularly in regional areas, are finding it hard to recruit staff,” Mr Dizdar said.
“We have just signed an agreement to make NSW teachers the best paid in Australia, this will help in the long term in attracting and retaining teachers.
“In the short term, however I have asked the department to wrap its support around Armidale Secondary College under the Priority Recruitment Scheme to help fill current vacancies at the school.”
Armidale Secondary College has three head teacher and five teacher vacancies and one counsellor vacancy in a staff of almost 100. The teaching vacancies are currently filled by casual and temporary staff.
The Priority Recruitment Support (PRS) team works closely and intensively with principals to recruit permanent and temporary teachers to meet the school’s needs.
This includes workforce planning, opportunities for early appointment of graduates and scholars, and priority consideration of teachers exiting from talent programs.
“The team will exhaust all possible recruitment methods and work with the leadership team at the school to give laser-like attention at filling these vacancies,” Mr Dizdar said.
“This is a practical way that the Department can assist the students, community and leadership team at Armidale.”
Since the Priority Recruitment Support team formed in May 2022, it has filled more than 870 permanent vacancies. Schools it supported were also prioritised in the roll out of the Temporary Workforce Transition initiative.
At Armidale Secondary College, this initiative has already seen 14 teachers and 16 support staff take up the option to move from temporary to permanent roles.
F
