Newly qualified teachers face a summer of uncertainty with many struggling to find permanent jobs at Scottish schools, the Lib Dems have warned.
Despite passing interviews and successfully completing a probationary year in the classroom, recent graduates have faced disappointment as local authorities inform them there are no secure roles currently available - despite a Scottish Government drive to hire more teachers to handle classroom disruption caused by coronavirus.
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has now called for SNP ministers to intervene after he was approached by several newly qualified teachers who have failed to secure jobs with Fife Council, one of the largest local authorities in the country.
The council has admitted that falling primary school rolls in the county means demand for teaching roles has outstripped the number available.
One recently qualified teacher, Lisajane Ellis, said: "Despite successfully passing the interview in Fife back in March and completing a successful probationary year, I too am left without a job from August onwards.
"I have been invited to apply to join the supply list in Fife. It is likely I will need to interview, again, for the honour of being placed on a zero hours contract.
"I left a successful career to retrain as a teacher and spent two years studying at Moray House for my masters."
She added: "Before beginning this new career, I was under the impression there was a shortage of teachers in Scotland and that people like me, successful in other areas of professional life, older with a varied life experience, would be welcomed eagerly.
"Being a little longer in the tooth, and with experience of competitive employment markets, I did not assume I would be handed a job on a plate. I did expect a meritocracy and the possibility of secure employment.
"It is quite clear that in Fife, and in many other local authorities, there simply are not enough posts available."
Arnault Kasa, who is also struggling to find work after completing his probation, said: "I’ve worked so hard to be in the position that am I but I just feel devalued and now I’m contemplating leaving the profession altogether."
Another new teacher, who asked not to be named, said: "I, like many other teachers, find myself finishing my probation year successfully and being told two days before the end of term that, although I was successful at interview back in March, there is no post in Fife Council for me.
"Understandably, I am absolutely heartbroken after giving my absolute all to a school, class and families for the past year all through a pandemic.
"For myself this has knocked me back from the possibility of applying for a mortgage which I have spent the last two years saving for."
Rennie has now called on the Scottish Government to intervene. He told the Record: “Unemployed teachers have been left in a dire position because of incompetent planning by both the Scottish Government and Fife Council.
"Despite endless election promises from the SNP there are not enough teaching jobs available for the thousands of teachers who have endured extensive training over years.
"Back in March Fife Council promised opportunities for lots of teachers way beyond the number of roles available. These teachers have been let down by the authorities who encouraged them to join the profession dedicated to the nurturing of young people’s minds.
"They are now destined to spend at least the next year scrabbling around for short term contracts and supply roles.
"It is almost impossible to plan their lives or even fix a mortgage, I have been challenging the SNP Government to address this problem for months but they seem to have cloth ears and refuse to tackle the issue.
"They have turned teaching from a lifelong vocation into a precarious lifestyle with one short term contract after another for too many.
"The testimonies of teachers across Fife should send a powerful message to the SNP run Government and council to fix this problem without delay.”
In a response to Rennie, Fife Council admitted "several factors have had an impact on the recruitment of teachers for 2021, particularly in the primary sector".
The local authority said: "We currently have a falling pupil roll across our primary schools. This reduces the number of teachers we need to employ to ensure that we operate our schools in accordance with the legislative requirements.
"Additionally, at this time of year, staffing requirements and allocations are constantly changing, as schools anticipate and react to staffing changes or continuing school roll fluctuations."
It added: "In an effort to support current staff employed in temporary contracts, as well as our 2020/21 probationers, we took the decision to advertise our primary posts internally only, as we anticipated that a large number of candidates would be seeking employment and that our number of vacancies would be more limited than previous years."
The Record has asked the Scottish Government for comment.
