UK Education PLC simply cannot complete in a Global Marketplace.

Teacher recruitment is top of the agenda for the senior leadership teams in most schools in the UK, but what hasn't been recognised in the debates in the UK media is that Britain is not alone in struggling to find suitably qualified school leaders and teachers to stand in front of classes. There is a worldwide teacher recruitment crisis at every level from classroom teachers through to school Principals: middle and senior leaders are in short supply, and specialist teachers in STEM subjects are at a premium.

Despite all the chest-beating depression about the state of UK education at home, the British education system is held in the highest esteem around the world. UK education is one of the great British exports with the number of English medium K12 International schools growing from 2,584 schools in 2000, to 9,626 in 2018 (up 372% – source ISC Research, May 2018).

UK trained teachers are increasingly in demand and short supply around the world. 

The UK Government seems slow on the uptake that the teacher recruitment crisis is a global rather than a local challenge and are yet to recognise that it is not well placed to complete with the packages on offer around the world. Britain immigration policies make it difficult for talented teachers around the world to move to the UK; and the levels of taxation and the cost of living mean that teachers’ salaries in the UK mean that it is too expensive. There simply are better options out there. Let me illustrate: A UK teacher on U3 earns £40,570 in England and Wales (£48,244 in Inner London); even on U3 with a maximum TLR1 (£13,288) a teacher earns £53,858 (£61,532 in Inner London). After tax, this means that in Inner London a U3 teacher is taking home £35,997.40 per annum and a colleague on U3 + TLR1 is earning £43,704.44 p.a. In contrast, equivalent classroom teachers in Dubai can be on a package of over AED 400,000 p.a., which is over £80,000 p.a. tax free. The living costs in Dubai are comparable to that of living in London, and the lifestyle is, arguably, significantly better. The contrast is even greater in senior leadership roles. Turning further East, salaries are even better with schools in Hong Kong and mainland China are offering even better annual packages.

Teaching abroad has become much more normal as commercial school chains (such as Nord Anglia and GEMS) have spread their reach, and as UK Independent Schools have established franchise schools around the world (e.g. Dulwich International, Harrow International). Today, working overseas, far from being seen as a hardship posting, increasingly is considered a desirable career move. These factors have meant that working abroad has never been a more attractive career step for teachers. Some estimates but a figure of 15,000 on the number of teachers leaving each year to teach outside the UK. As yet, not much has been done to persuade teachers to stay. And the problem is only going to get worse. 

The rapid expansion of UK curriculum schools around the world is set to continue and this means that British curriculum international schools will be looking to recruit an estimated 180,974 more staff within the next 5 years and 428,963 staff within the next ten [ISC Research Data – May 2018]. This expansion will create even more opportunities for British teachers abroad . . . and place an even greater strain on teacher recruitment and retention in the UK.

A version of this article appeared in the Tes 13/11/2018 Double your money abroad: why the recruitment crisis is a global issue.