Supply agencies have become an important part of recruiting personnel for UK schools. As a recruitment agency, it works along with its recruitment strategy to ensure enough staff is available for every need.
One of the primary ways that schools work with supply agencies is to fill a need for short-term educators. This can include sick leave and other unexpected teacher absences. In addition, if somebody is dealing with a longer-term illness, maternity leave, or if an educator leaves permanently, then the supply agency can provide what is necessary to fill that position as well.
Most industries regularly take advantage of recruitment agencies as part of their strategy for hiring. The same is also true of those in the educational sector. Here are some common reasons why they do so:
Supply agencies provide the resources necessary to save schools time and provide quality educators to fill the need.
Schools are often focused on the students, and they may not have the experience or the time to screen educators before hiring them. It can be difficult to know whether you are getting quality employees. Considering that most applicants will dress up their CVs with enthusiastic words and unnecessary abilities, separating the good from the bad can be difficult.
At the same time, you may see a lacklustre CV come through that actually belongs to a high-level teacher. They just may not be able to write a good CV.
Using supply agencies as recruiters keeps you from making a bad decision when recruiting educators. A good agency will have what is necessary to ensure you have the best candidates at your school.
Teacher shortages make recruitment difficult.
It’s no secret that there is a shortage of teachers in the UK educational system. More children are also entering the system, and teachers are leaving the profession. As a result of these issues, there may be a shortfall of 13,000 educators very soon.
Since fewer people are training to be teachers, that makes the shortage even more severe. Without graduates to replace any teachers who are retiring, it adds to the problem as well.
How does the shortfall of educators make schools use teaching supply agencies more often? If schools have their own recruiting standards, it can be difficult to find the candidates most suitable for the job. Even spending money on advertising may not help.
Having an agency do the work of recruiting helps schools in multiple ways. It provides them with ready candidates to choose from with a low risk of out-of-pocket expense, reducing advertising to nothing.
High-level educators often appreciate being recruited.
You may also have difficulty finding high-level educators because they may only work with recruitment agencies. They find that it is a lot faster and easier to find a suitable position, and there are likely quite a few jobs available through recruitment agencies.
Top agencies will work with the candidates to ensure they find the proper schools to work with. This also limits the risk, making hiring quality teachers easier and benefitting students from it.
Options from Temporary to Permanent Positions
You may find some job candidates that prefer to work on a temporary to permanent basis. In other words, the teacher may receive a short-term contract with the possibility of coming on the staff permanently. This also reduces risk, as you get to work with the educator before making the long-term commitment.
UK schools now use supply agencies as an essential part of their hiring programmes. They do so for the many reasons that are listed above. School leaders, including head teachers and SENCOs, limit the administrative work necessary when using an agency.
It is also beneficial that the candidates are pre-vetted as top candidates for your staff. If you have an interest in using an agency to make the hiring process easier, ensure that you are using a highly regarded agency that is knowledgeable in your local area.