How can you stay ahead of the game in 2018 when recruiting for a school amid an ongoing shortfall?
The recruitment of teachers into the education sector is extremely challenging – pupil numbers are set to rise by 20% by 2025 while the number of new teachers entering the profession is at a record low at just 10%, only barely replacing those leaving. With 2018 set to be a teachers’ job market, how can you secure the best talent?
Here, Paul Howells, CEO of Eteach, the UK’s leading education recruitment solutions provider, gives his top tips for schools recruiting in 2018.
1) Consider a recruitment partner
Signing up to an annual job board licence with a specialist education recruitment partner is a sensible investment for any school, not just for the incredibly cost-effective online advertising. A good recruitment provider specialising in education understands your field and has access to a wealth of cost-cutting tools such as talent pools and display advertising as well as job boards and specialist recruiters. They should also review your spend in all channels and help maximise your return on investments (ROI) through a multi-channel recruitment strategy which will ensure you are tapping in to teaching talent across all available platforms and means your job posts are seen by as many potential candidates as possible.
2) Build an employer brand
Employer branding will be essential in 2018 to stand out from the competition and attract and engage the best candidates. Just think, the first thing the majority of job seekers do when considering any position is to look at the institution online, and schools should expect no different. Communicate your employer brand with a dedicated career site for prospective and existing employees that highlights your unique selling points as the employer of choice and your job opportunities. A career site allows you to attract candidate 365 days a year even when you aren’t recruiting. Excellent brand management has a wealth of benefits including reduction in recruitment costs, higher employee retention and increased engagement from employees.
3) Social media
Social media has revolutionised the way we find information, from buying a house to looking for the best restaurants – the way people look for jobs is no different and this creates a huge opportunity for schools looking for talent. This is where candidates are looking so schools need to be active across a range of social networking platforms to ensure a presence. Social media can be a fast, efficient and cost-effective tool when used for recruiting.
4) Develop a recruitment strategy
Making the wrong hiring decision or failing to find a suitable candidate is an expensive process. Schools spent an astonishing £821 million on supply teachers last year. Careful and proactive planning is how to avoid this, with a 12-month recruitment strategy for the year ahead, including everything from budgeting and competitive benefits packages to open days that show off your school to potential teachers.
5) Think globally - the world is your oyster
In the quest for the top teachers don’t limit yourself to sourcing candidates from within the UK. 2018 will be all about thinking globally, not just locally. Look for overseas talent to fill those hard to fill roles. Indeed, the government is now recruiting teachers from abroad in a bid to tackle the recruitment issues here. At Eteach, we work with teachers from around the world, placing excellent candidates in schools that have been struggling to fill roles, particularly within STEM subjects. In particular, we identified Canada as a country with a surplus of well trained teachers, complimented by a culture and curriculum that fits perfectly in UK classrooms. Utilising this relatively unknown talent pool will help you to stay ahead of the game this year.
An effective recruitment strategy with an excellent recruitment partner will be essential for schools to succeed. Following these steps will make all the difference in winning the war for top talent in 2018.
About the author
Katie Newell
Katie Newell BA(Hons) PGCE is an ex-primary school teacher, Head of Maths, Head of Year five and languages specialist. Katie qualified in Psychology at Liverpool then specialised in Primary Languages for her PGCE at Reading. Katie feels passionately that teachers are the unsung heroes of society; that opening minds to creative timetabling could revolutionise keeping women in teaching, and that a total change to pupil feedback is the key to solving the work life balance issue for the best job in the world.