Union doubts benefits of teacher work placement scheme [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 16 December 2010
AN unpaid work placement scheme to help unemployed teachers get classroom experience may not be as beneficial as promised, a union claims.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) earlier this year called for assistance in getting recent graduates the classroom experience needed to undergo the probation by department inspectors which they must complete before being eligible for full-time jobs.
But the union said an initiative unveiled by Education Minister Mary Coughlan would pose problems for many schools with no extra space to accommodate classes for a new teacher at short notice and difficulties would arise if work placement teachers left during the school year.
The scheme operated through Fás involves placements of between two and nine months but it cannot be used to displace an existing staff member or fill a vacant post.
Ms Coughlan announced this week that the free work placement programme is being expanded to create an extra 5,000 places across the wider public service and 500 more graduate placements in the private sector, all above an existing 2,000 places.
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