mmg.com.au

Schools in the Hume region are attracting relatively high numbers of graduate teachers, according to a new report.

The 2010-2011 Teacher Supply and Demand report has shown schools in the region, which includes the Shepparton area, were some of the biggest employers of graduate teachers in regional Victoria.

The report, released by the Victorian Government last week, compared graduate employment rates across government schools.

It showed the Hume region was the biggest employer of graduates in country regions in 2010 and equal third in 2011 — 7.2 per cent of graduate teachers were employed in the Hume region in 2010 and 5.3 per cent in 2011.

The region extends from Corryong to the east, Kinglake to the south, Shepparton to the west and Wodonga to the north.

Almost 30 per cent of graduates were employed at regional schools.

The Grampians region employed the lowest number of graduates in 2010 at 3.7 per cent, but increased to 5.3 per cent, equal with the Hume region, in 2011.

The Barwon SW region employed the highest number of graduates in 2011 at 6.2 per cent.

Victorian Teaching Minister Peter Hall said the report showed the government’s ‘‘suite of workforce reforms was having an impact’’.

“While this report shows that we are making inroads with these recruitment initiatives, there is still more work to do,” Mr Hall said.

“We will continue to focus our efforts on raising standards in our schools and building a system where teachers, principals and support staff are recognised and rewarded for the crucial role they play in making this happen.

“A crucial element in attracting and retaining high quality teachers is ensuring teacher education courses and pre-service teacher training programs are relevant and practical.’’

Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Mary Bluett said the high number of graduates was due to a changing workforce.

‘‘What we’re seeing in Hume is that a lot of people are reaching retirement age ... we’re seeing that the impact of significant cohort of people are now retiring and having to be filled with new graduates,’’ Ms Bluett said.

She said although graduate employment numbers in the region were relatively high, some jobs were being advertised as shorter contract roles.

The number of teachers employed in Victorian schools was 72521 in 2010, including 43290 in the government sector.