English schools targeting NI teachers in recruitment drive
An English academies Trust is targeting teachers in Northern Ireland to fill job demand across the water.
The Co-op Academies Trust, which operates 12 schools in Leeds, Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent, will hold recruitment events here, where it says there are more newly qualified teachers than jobs.
Currently around 15 jobs are being offered, although that number could increase to as many as 30.
The Trust, which has announced plans to treble in size by 2022, will offer a benefits package to successful candidates.
Frank Norris, director of the Co-op Academies Trust, said: "We have vacancies across our various academies and because we are part of the Co-op we can offer benefits not usually associated with teaching.
"We would discuss salary with them, in effect, we do need these people so we would put a premium on the salary that they get, because we desperately need them.
"The key thing is to progress your career.
"We know that we're not going to keep those people for life, we wouldn't want them to stay with us for their entire career.
"So it's about getting word out that what we've got to offer is better than what they're being offered.
"It's really important when teachers join us that they feel they are being progressed and they are getting better."
Benefits will include discounts at Co-op stores, some relocation costs and interest-free loans to cover the deposit on a rented property.
The current academies supported by the Co-op have more than 10,000 students and employ over 1,000 teachers and support staff.
As more schools join the Trust, those numbers will grow to more than 40,000 students and 4,000 staff in four years' time