'Shortage' in new teaching jobs

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Only one in seven new teachers has secured a job for the next school year, a survey for the Times Educational Supplement Scotland has suggested.

Results from all 32 Scottish councils claimed 477 out of 3,135 probationers employed last year have been given a permanent contract.

Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS said it was a "tremendous waste".

The Scottish Government said it would not expect every probationer to have a job at the start of term.

Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and Glasgow Councils could not offer any permanent jobs, according to the survey.

The EIS said colleges were offering more places to meet Scottish Government plans for smaller class sizes, but councils were not making jobs available.

Focus 'misleading'

"We can't continue like this, it's going to be a tremendous waste," said an EIS spokesman, who called on local authorities and ministers to "put their heads together".

"In five to 10 years' time, when a lot of the current teaching force reaches retirement age, we're going to have a real problem."

The Scottish Government said it was misleading to focus solely on full-time teaching positions, as local authorities needed teachers for a variety of roles.

A government spokesman said: "We wouldn't expect every probationer to have a job at the start of the school term as vacancies arise throughout the year.

"This is reflected through the regular General Teaching Council Scotland surveys, with the last survey from April showing 89% of post-probationer teachers employed in a teaching role."

The spokesman added: "Post-probationers may take up job offers in a different authority, there should not be an assumption that new teachers should expect employment within the same local authority as they completed their probation year.