Graduate skills going to waste

11/07/2008

Almost four in ten graduates in some disciplines rarely or never get to use knowledge they learnt at university, government research has revealed.

The Training and Development Agency (TDA) for Schools has said this has caused nearly half of all maths and science graduates to declare they are unhappy in their jobs.

Chief executive, Graham Holley, said its research shows "there is a veritable untapped goldmine of maths and science teachers out there with a great knowledge of - and commitment to - their subject".

The TDA is keen to encourage graduates with these skills to re-train and work as teachers, and fill a current shortage.

It hopes to recruit up to 6,000 teachers with the relevant background ahead of the next school year.

According to Professor John Howson from Education Data Surveys, there is a north/south divide in trained maths teacher numbers- with the south most understaffed.

"Once again the government's failure to recruit enough trainee maths teachers means that some schools will be short of properly qualified maths teachers," he claimed.

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