According to the 2018 Swiss Education Report, Switzerland joins the list of growing numbers of industrialized nations looking for teachers. The report indicates that Switzerland is in need of 10,000 additional teachers a year. The shortage includes 7,000 teachers at the primary level and more than 3,000 at the secondary level. The teacher shortage is severe in the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Aargau, and Valais.
What has caused the shortage?
It isn’t salaries. According to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, (OECD) Switzerland’s primary teachers’ salaries are double the average salaries of USD. The picture is similar at the upper secondary level. That is the highest salary in the OECD countries.
Teacher retirements. Teachers who work part-time so that they can take care of their own children. Women who work are doing so three days a week. Switzerland has a high rate of teachers working part time compared to other countries. Around 70% teachers in Switzerland work part time as compared to 22% in the United Kingdom and 38% in Germany.
The shortage of teachers in the world and what can be done to slow the educational exodus is discussed in much greater detail in my soon-to-be released book, Who Will Teach the Children? Recruiting, Retaining & Refreshing Highly Effective Educators.