Longitudinal Teacher Education and Workforce Study (ltews) Final Report

3.2.3 Graduates who did not enter teaching

This section presents data on graduates who do not enter teaching; firstly, at discrete points in time – Round 1 (March 2012), Round 2 (October 2012) and Round 3 (March 2013) – and then a longitudinal analysis of changes over time.
Graduates without teaching employment: Discrete Points in Time

Table 28 shows the number and percentage of graduate respondents without a teaching position seeking employment as a teacher. There were 371 graduate teachers who did not have teaching employment in Round 1. Of these, 84 per cent were seeking a teaching position. There were 402 graduate teachers who were not employed as a teacher in a school in Round 2, and of these, 68 per cent were seeking a teaching position. Six months later, in Round 3, of the 352 graduate respondents without a teaching position, 62 per cent were still seeking teaching employment.

From Round 1 to Round 2 (March to October, 2012) there were 16 per cent less unemployed graduates seeking a teaching position. From Round 2 to Round 3 (October 2012 to March 2013) there was 4 per cent less unemployed graduates seeking to be a teacher in a school.

Table 28. Graduate teachers without a teaching position – by seeking employment as a teacher

	Round 1		Round 2		Round 3
	N	%	N	%	n	%
Yes	310	83.6	275	68.4	217	61.6
No	61	16.4	127	31.6	135	38.4
TOTAL	371	100.0	402	100.0	352	100.0

Graduates without teaching employment: Length of time seeking teaching work

Table 29 shows those respondents who answered 'Yes' in the table above – graduate teachers without a teaching position and seeking employment as a teacher in a school. The table shows the length of time that these graduates had been seeking work.

In Round 1, the highest percentage of unemployed graduates had been seeking a teaching position for between 4–6 months (38 per cent). The Round 2 respondents had the highest percentage seeking teaching from between 1–3 months (52 per cent), then for more than 6 months (40 per cent). In Round 3, the majority of unemployed graduates had been seeking a teaching position for more than 6 months (54 per cent), with the majority of this group (93 out of 117, or 79 per cent) looking for more than 12 months.

Table 29. Graduate teachers seeking employment as a teacher – by length of time seeking this employment

	Round 1		Round 2		Round 3
			n	%	n	%
1-3 months	112	36.1	141	51.6	56	25.8
4-6 months	118	38.1	22	8.1	44	20.3
More than 6 months	80	25.8	110	40.3	117	54.0
[7-12 months]^1					[24]^2	[11.1]
[More than 12 months]					[93]^2	[42.9]
TOTAL	310	100.0	273	100.0	217	100.0

Note: 1. Bracketed categories and numbers apply to Round 3 only

2. Of the number looking for work for more than 6 months (117), 79 per cent of this group had been seeking teaching employment for more than 12 months and 21 per cent for 7-12 months.

Figure 11 shows graduates without a teaching position and the employment status of these graduates in jobs other than school teaching. A majority of these graduates in all three rounds did have a job outside teaching, rising from 53 per cent in Round 1 to 63 per cent in Round 2, and then to 91 per cent in Round 3.

Figure . Graduate teachers without a teaching position – by current employment status

Graduate teachers working outside teaching – by industry sector

Table 30 shows the industry sector where the graduates without a teaching position were working at the time of the three surveys. The largest percentage were working in the broader education sector. This is consistent in all three rounds (43 per cent in Round 1, 34 per cent in Round 2, and 41 per cent in Round 3). Other sectors where a high percentage of graduate teachers gained employment included Retail Trade (18 per cent in Round 1, 14 per cent in Round 2, and 10 per cent in Round 3), and Health and Community Services (11 per cent in Round 1, 12 per cent in Round 2, and 14 per cent in Round 3).

Table 30. Graduate teachers without a teaching position – by industry sector of current employment

	Round 1		Round 2		Round 3
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	2	1.0	4	1.6	5	1.6
Mining	2	1.0	6	2.4	2	0.6
Manufacturing	3	1.5	3	1.2	5	1.6
Electricity, Gas and Water supply	1	0.5	1	0.4	1	0.3
Construction	1	0.5	3	1.2	3	0.9
Wholesale trade	0	0.0	3	1.2	1	0.3
Retail trade	34	17.5	36	14.2	32	10.0
Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants	6	3.1	21	8.3	18	5.6
Transport and storage	1	0.5	2	0.8	4	1.2
Communications services	10	5.2	6	2.4	8	2.5
Finance and Insurance	3	1.5	3	1.2	9	2.8
Property and business services	1	0.5	4	1.6	3	0.9
Govt. Administration and Defence	8	4.1	16	6.3	15	4.7
Education	84	43.3	86	34.0	131	40.8
Health and Community Services	21	10.8	30	11.9	46	14.3
Cultural and Recreational services	6	3.1	17	6.7	22	6.9
Personal and other services	11	5.7	12	4.7	16	5.0
TOTAL	194	100.0	253	100.0	321	100.0

Since Round 1 results showed that many graduates without a teaching job were still working in the education sector, we asked participants in Round 2 to elaborate on their specific role in the education sector. The results are shown in Table 31.

Table 31. Graduate teachers without a teaching position currently employed in the education sector –by role

	Round 2
	n	%
Tutoring/private teaching	17	19.5
Early childhood education	15	17.2
Teacher's aide	14	16.1
‘Outside school hours’ child care	11	12.6
Formal tertiary education	10	11.5
Community-based adult education	1	1.1
Education administration	9	10.3
Public service	3	3.4
Education Department – Head office	1	1.1
Education Department – Regional office	1	1.1
Other	5	5.7
TOTAL	87	100.0

The highest percentage of graduates were employed as tutors, almost 20 per cent. The next most common role was working in early childhood education (17 per cent), followed by being a teacher's aide (16 per cent), and working in ‘outside school hours’ child care centres (13 per cent).

Graduate teachers currently working outside teaching – by employment type

Figure 12 shows the percentages for employment type for those graduates with employment outside of teaching in a school. From March 2012 to March 2013 (Round 1 to 3) the percentage of graduate respondents with full-time work outside of teaching rose from 27 per cent to 41 per cent. The percentage of graduates with casual work outside of teaching fell from 47 per cent to 39 per cent.

Figure . Graduate teachers currently employed outside teaching in a school – by current employment type

Table 32 shows the type of employment for those employed in the three sectors with the highest percentage of graduate teacher employment outside of teaching


Table 32. Graduate teachers currently employed outside teaching in a school – by key employment sectors and current employment type

	Round 1	Round 3
Employment type	%	%
Full-time
Retail trade	17.6	9.4
Education	22.6	65.6
Health and Community services	23.8	26.1
Part-time
Retail trade	32.4	25.0
Education	20.2	8.4
Health and Community services	38.1	26.1
Casual
Retail trade	50.0	65.6
Education	57.1	26.0
Health and Community services	38.1	47.8

In Round 1, the three industry sectors showed similar patterns for the percentage in full-time employment (from 18-24 per cent). Part-time employment was lower for those in the education sector (20 per cent) than for those in Retail (32 per cent) and Health (38 per cent). Casual employment was highest for those in the education sector (57 per cent) and lowest for those in Health (38 per cent).

In Round 3, there was a clear difference in employment type for those in the education sector from the other two sectors. The majority of graduates without a teaching position, employed in another capacity in the education sector, had full-time work (66 per cent). In the Retail Trade sector, two-thirds of graduates were employed on a casual basis. In Health and Community Services, nearly half were employed on a casual basis (48 per cent) and the other half equally divided between full-time and part-time employment (26 per cent each).

Graduates without teaching employment: Longitudinal analysis

The numbers in each cohort who were not employed as a teacher in a school are as follows:

• 
  Cohort 1 (able to be followed from March 2012 – October 2012. N=74)
  
• 
  Cohort 2 (able to be followed from October 2012 – March 2013. N=92)
  
• 
  Cohort 3 (able to be followed from March 2012 – March 2013. N=67)
  

Cohort 1 (Round 1 to Round 2): Graduates without teaching employment, seeking teaching employment

Figure 13 shows the changes in the percentages of the 74 unemployed graduate teachers seeking teaching employment in Rounds 1 or 2 (Cohort 1).

Of Cohort 1 who had not secured a teaching position over the two rounds of surveys, there was a slight decrease in the percentage who were seeking teaching employment – from 70 per cent in Round 1 to 68 per cent in Round 2. Of Cohort 1 not seeking teaching employment, in Round 1 this was 30 per cent, and in Round 2 it had risen slightly to 32 per cent. For the majority of this cohort, their inclination or disinclination to secure a teaching position had not changed over the period of the two surveys.

Figure . Cohort 1 without teaching employment – by seeking teaching employment

Table 33 shows the change in outside of teaching employment status for Cohort 1 – graduate teachers who did not have a teaching position over the two rounds of the survey.

Table 33. Cohort 1 without teaching employment – by employment outside teaching

	Employed outside of teaching in Round 2
	Yes		No	Total
Employed outside of teaching in Round 1
Row percentages (percentage based on Round 1 activity)
Yes	89.7		10.3	100.0
No	37.1		62.9	100.0
TOTAL	64.9		35.1	100.0
Column percentages (percentage based on Round 2 activity)
Yes	72.9		15.4	52.7
No	27.1		84.6	47.3
TOTAL	100.0		100.0	100.0

The first panel presents row percentages, which are the percentages relative to Cohort 1's employment outside of teaching in Round 1. The table shows that of those with a job outside teaching in Round 1, 89.7 per cent still had a job outside of teaching in Round 2. The first panel also shows that of those who were unemployed in Round 1, 62.9 per cent were still unemployed in Round 2.

The second panel presents the figures as column percentages, that is, the percentages expressed in terms of Cohort 1's employment outside teaching in Round 2. The table shows that of those with a job outside teaching in Round 2, 72.9 per cent had a job outside of teaching earlier in the year, in Round 1. The second panel also shows that of those who were unemployed in Round 2, 84.6 per cent were unemployed in Round 1.

Cohort 2 (Round 2 to Round 3): Graduates without teaching employment, seeking teaching employment

The following table shows the changes in the percentages of the 92 graduates (Cohort 2) seeking teaching employment. This group of graduates were not employed in Rounds 2 or 3.

Figure . Cohort 2 without teaching employment – by seeking teaching employment

For Cohort 2, there was a fall in the percentage of graduates who were seeking teaching employment – from 67 per cent in Round 2 to 61 per cent in Round 3. In Round 2, 33 per cent of Cohort 2 were not seeking employment but this had risen to 39 per cent by Round 3. For the majority of this cohort, their inclination or disinclination to secure a teaching position did not change over the period of six months in Round 2.

Table 34 shows the change in employment status for Cohort 2 who did not have a teaching position over the two rounds of the survey, Rounds 2 and 3.
Table 34. Cohort 2 without teaching employment – by employment outside of teaching

	Employed outside of teaching in Round 3
	Yes		No	Total
Employed outside of teaching in Round 2
Row percentages (percentage based on Round 2 activity)
Yes	50.0		50.0	100.0
No	22.2		77.8	100.0
TOTAL	38.1		61.9	100.0
Column percentages (percentage based on Round 3 activity)
Yes	75.0		46.2	57.1
No	25.0		53.8	42.9
TOTAL	100.0		100.0	100.0

The first panel presents row percentages, which are the percentages relative to Cohort 2's employment outside of teaching in Round 3. The table shows that of those with a job outside of teaching in Round 2, 50 per cent still had a job outside of teaching in Round 3. The first panel also shows that of those who were unemployed in Round 2, 77.8 per cent were still unemployed in Round 3.

The second panel presents the figures as column percentages, that is, the percentages expressed in terms of Cohort 2's employment outside teaching in Round 3. The table shows that of those with a job outside of teaching in Round 3, 75 per cent had a job outside of teaching late in the previous year, in Round 2. The second panel also shows that of those who were unemployed in Round 3, 53.8 per cent were unemployed in Round 2.

Cohort 3 (Round 1 to Round 3): Graduates without teaching employment, seeking teaching employment

Cohort 3 refers to the 67 unemployed graduate teachers who participated in Round 1 to Round 3 of the Graduate Teacher Survey. Figure 15 shows that, of Cohort 3 who had not secured a teaching position over the two rounds of surveys, there was again a fall in the percentage of those who were seeking teaching employment – from 72 per cent in Round 1 to 64 per cent in Round 3.

Of Cohort 3 not seeking teaching employment, in Round 1 this was 28 per cent and in Round 3 it had risen to 36 per cent. For the majority of this cohort, their inclination or disinclination to secure a teaching position had not changed over the period of 12 months.

Figure . Cohort 3 without teaching employment – by seeking teaching employment

Table 35 shows the change in employment status for Cohort 3 who did not have a teaching position over the two rounds of the survey.

Table 35. Cohort 3 without teaching employment – by employment outside of teaching

	Employed outside of teaching in Round 3
	Yes		No	Total
Employed outside of teaching in Round 1
Row percentages (percentage based on Round 1 activity)
Yes	57.8		42.2	100.0
No	28.0		72.0	100.0
TOTAL	42.1		57.9	100.0
Column percentages (percentage based on Round 2 activity)
Yes	65.0		34.5	47.4
No	35.0		65.5	52.6
TOTAL	100.0		100.0	100.0

The first panel presents row percentages, which are the percentages relative to Cohort 1's employment outside of teaching in Round 1. The table shows that of those with a job outside teaching in Round 1, 57.8 per cent still had a job outside of teaching in Round 3. The first panel also shows that of those who were unemployed in Round 1, 72 per cent were still unemployed in Round 3. This is a higher percentage than for the other two cohorts, and it measures a 12-month period, whereas the other two cohort datasets are measured over six month periods. The second panel presents the figures as column percentages, that is, the percentages expressed in terms of Cohort 3's employment outside of teaching in Round 3. The table shows that of those with a job outside teaching in Round 3, 65 per cent had a job outside of teaching in the previous year, in Round 1. The second panel also shows that of those who were unemployed in Round 3, 65.5 per cent were unemployed in Round 1.