Teach First NZ

The path into teaching in New Zealand can be a difficult one if you've graduated yet gone on to work in another industry. Changing direction can be next to impossible as a Graduate Diploma is needed and that means more expense and leaving work; you give up your salary to train for a year.

However there is now another way to becoming fully qualified and that is to enrol in the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) from the University of Auckland. This course is run over two years in conjunction with Teach First NZ which is a not-for-profit organisation helping end educational inequality.

The good part of this is the trainee gets paid a full-time salary while being trained. After an initial eight week intensive, the trainee goes to work in a school and teaches 60% of a full load. That leaves the rest of the time to do the course work and to be tutored.

The catch is this offer is only extended to candidates who are qualified to teach one or more of the following: English, Mathematics/Statistics, Chemistry, Physics, Te Reo Māori, General Science or IT. Those accepted for the course must be prepared to teach disadvantaged pupils in lower decile schools. These are in Auckland and Northland and no other areas of New Zealand as yet.

Links: https://www.teachnz.govt.nz/thinking-of-teaching/qualifications-information-for-2017/view/87

http://teachfirstnz.org/programme/who-we-look-for

If you're looking to make the switch and wondered how, this is the best option IMO. Don't be put off by the prospect of teaching in poorer areas, the rewards as a teacher are greater and the teachers are usually very committed so you get a more collegial environment. There are challenges but if you make it through, you'd be a great teacher.

When it comes down to what salary level you'd be on, that is a function of two things; the level of educational qualification and what educationally relevant experience you've already received. You don't necessarily start at the bottom of the scale as a graduate; a PhD starts at the top, Masters next down, Bachelors is in the middle somewhere. The big benefit of this scheme is you get paid while training, unlike other graduates who usually take on student loans while attaining the entry qualification (usually the Graduate Diploma in Teaching).