This report by Advanced claims that finding appropriate teaching talent is the highest priority for education providers in 2024, with more than half (56%) of senior education professionals ranking attraction and retention of staff as the biggest problem facing their organisation.
The findings are compiled from a survey of 267 teaching or education professionals in the UK and says that the education sector faces significant challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Almost 40,000 teachers left the profession in2023 for reasons other than retirement – the highest ever number of resignations since records began in 2010.
The battle to deliver quality education in the face of a staffing crisis and real-term budget cuts is having a serious impact on the sector’s ability to deliver quality results. Some organisations have made the decision to reduce staff numbers to cope with underfunding, which is having a negative impact on the curriculum they can deliver and does little to allay concerns over retention of top talent.
The report also examines the uptake of new technology in the education sector. Around one in 10 (12%) of education providers are using AI tools in learning – which is less than half of the general rate of uptake of AI tools across businesses in the UK.
The main reason for lack of AI adoption is lack of budget – 40% of education leaders said that financial pressures were the reason that they had not invested in new technology. A third (30%) reported that they hadn’t yet adopted AI at work due to concerns over the risks it may present to their organisation, while 20% said it was down to a lack of knowledge or guidance on best practice for implementation of AI.