News item | 21-01-2025 | 06:00
Showing that education is the place where you can make a difference in the lives of children, young people and (young) adults. And thus make potential lateral entrants and prospective students enthusiastic about a job in primary and secondary education and secondary vocational education. That is the aim of the new campaign ‘Working with the Future’. Good and motivated people in education are more than welcome. Working in education is meaningful, provides a serious salary and you can continue to develop. Today, State Secretary Mariëlle Paul (Fundamental Education and Emancipation) is launching the campaign at Cascade primary school in Voorburg together with a number of lateral entrants.
State Secretary Mariëlle Paul: “Working in education means working with and for the future of the Netherlands. It is working on the development of students and your own. And working in education means ensuring that children enjoy going to school and that you come home with a good feeling. Thanks to you, pupils and students learn something new every day. It is so important that this story is told. I hope that more people will choose this wonderful profession. Good education depends on well-trained people in the classroom and in the school. Every student and every student deserves a good teacher.”
Positive and realistic
Education is desperate for good, motivated people. For example, the shortage of teachers in primary education is 8.1% (7,700 FTE) and in secondary education 5.1% (3,800 FTE). The shortage of school leaders is 9.8% (850 FTE). There are quite a few unfair images about working in education. For example, the salary is invariably underestimated. Some also think that working in education would be monotonous or a kind of final destination. These misconceptions do not help the image of education.
The new campaign ‘Working with the Future’ is the largest national campaign on working in education ever. It focuses on the meaning of the work, the development opportunities and the salary. These appear to be the things that potential lateral entrants, prospective students and educational professionals find most important. The campaign aims to paint a positive and realistic picture of working in education. It emphasizes that it is sometimes hard work, but that you can make a difference for pupils and students every day.
Moreover, you earn a serious salary. As a teacher you earn on average gross around 6,200 euros per month. The campaign also addresses the fact that education is a very versatile sector in which you can fully develop as a person: within your profession (e.g. to specialist) or in terms of position (from teacher to internal supervisor and school director). And you can switch subjects or schools, from Montessori to special education.
The campaign is in line with the measures to make and keep working in education attractive. In this way, efforts are being made to reduce the workload. School boards are also helped to be a good employer. Over the next 10 years, approximately 60,000 teachers from primary, secondary and secondary vocational education will further professionalise. Teachers can also receive a teacher grant to further develop themselves.
Combat shortages
The campaign is a new step in combating the shortages of teachers, school leaders and support staff in education. Together with the educational field, the government is pulling out all the stops. With results. For example, more than 2,200 lateral entry students applied for the lateral entry subsidy last year and more than 900 current educational assistants receive financial support for teacher training. The network of education regions also has national coverage since this year. Within this framework, schools, teacher training colleges, municipalities and educational staff work together to tackle staff shortages. These educational regions ensure that interested parties within their region are warmly received and guided. Furthermore, increasing the number of hours worked has the potential to contribute significantly to tackling the teacher shortage.
Joint campaign
The multi-year campaign ‘Working with the Future’ was created together with all partners in education and with the educational regions. In these education regions, school boards, teachers, teacher training colleges and partners such as municipalities and UWV work together to combat the teacher shortage, including by guiding lateral entrants. The first part of the campaign is mainly aimed at potential lateral entrants, with the focus on prospective students later this year. The campaign includes digital bus shelters, online videos and radio spots. From now on the website is also available www.werkeninhetonderwijs.nl online.