A stoush over the best plan to address teacher shortages has emerged between TasTAFE and the education union as negotiations over pay conditions continue.
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The Australian Education Union proposed last week a plan to introduce teachers under supervision as a way to attract industry professionals into teaching positions at TasTAFE.
However, the education provider has hit back at the claims the proposal is a new one, with chief executive Jenny Dodd clarifying on Sunday that the institution already has a similar plan in place.
AEU Tasmania TAFE president Simon Bailey said the union had proposed teachers under supervision as a way to reduce the impact of teacher shortages at TasTAFE.
A short term offer was accepted by TasTAFE members last week with a commitment to return to negotiations and AEU Tasmania TAFE president Simon Bailey said the union already had detailed plans on the table.
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"We want a new classification for teachers under supervision that would allow new starts to negotiate a wage competitive with what they would receive in the industry they're working in," he said.
"Our proposal for a teacher under supervision role would attract people with plenty of industry experience with a permanent job and the opportunity to obtain the necessary qualifications to teach in their first year of employment."
However, TasTAFE chief executive Jenny Dodd said a teacher under instruction position had been in place as part of the educational institution's workforce development strategy.
Ms Dodd said TasTAFE had been working actively "for the past six months" to address teacher recruitment issues and teachers under supervision had seen three industry-experienced teachers fill positions since July.
Ms Dodd said the position allows the CEO to appoint people directly from the industry who do not hold the required teaching qualifications.
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Those people are then partnered with an existing TasTAFE assessor who is fully qualified. However, teachers under supervision can deliver training.
"In industries where there are ongoing recruitment issues TasTAFE has both teachers and teachers under supervision being advertised perpetually," she said.
Six positions have been approved to be advertised this way.
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The union proposal comes as TasTAFE struggles to attract teachers in key industries such as IT and construction trades, in some cases refusing new students and delaying graduation and employment.
"There's a skill shortage in booming industries like construction and TAFE is critical to addressing that shortage, but we need to attract teachers with industry experience," Mr Bailey said.
"Along with attracting quality staff, TAFE teachers key priorities are workload and a professional pathway that leads to a tertiary qualification," Mr Bailey said.
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