Our union continues to monitor the initial teacher education (ITE) space, a topic which remains subject to much debate at all levels of government.
Following their election promise to institute paid internships for aspiring teachers, the Queensland state government has announced the Turn to Teaching program will be piloted in state schools during 2022-2023.
The program aims to reduce impediments to those who are seeking a career change and would like to enter the teaching profession, in a bid to address an expected future shortage of teachers.
As part of the process, the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) has committed to temporarily granting Permission to Teach (PTT) for Turn to Teaching interns. PTT is normally only granted to people who are not registered teachers under strictly defined circumstances.
However, our union believes current frameworks for ITE are more than sufficient and creating alternative pathways to the teaching profession will not adequately address existing problems which are plaguing the profession.
