Any efforts to enlist good teachers is okay with education expert Sue Bennett.
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The head of the University of Wollongong's School of Education has seen too many potentially great teachers slip through the system.
That's why Ms Bennett backs removing 'unnecessary' barriers stopping people entering the profession, especially those looking to switch careers to become teachers.
"Obviously those leaving a good job on a steady income don't need unnecessary barriers. They can't afford to give up a steady income to do full-time or part-time study. That is a significant barrier to potentially stopping them from crossing over to become teachers," she said.
Ms Bennett's comments come hot on the heels of the NSW Government announcing it planned to remove mid-careers' barriers to teaching.
Academics, high-performing professionals and subject matter experts will have an accelerated pathway into a teaching career thanks to a radical overhaul of how mid-career entrants to teaching are hired.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the new pathways are for professionals who have experience in relevant subject areas, or already have teaching experience in the higher education system.
"The best and brightest from other professions must be encouraged to become teachers, and right now there are too many barriers to entry. We are tearing down these unnecessary barriers to entry," Ms Mitchell said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the new approach was in line with recommendations in the NSW Productivity Commission's White Paper, which found that teacher quality can boost the state's productivity.
The overhaul will involve a tiered approach - creating new pathways into secondary school teaching depending on a person's knowledge and pre-existing teaching expertise. Entrants will still receive a teaching qualification and, depending on their teaching experience, aim to be in front of a class and on salary within six months.
The reform will focus of four key features: removing barriers to entry to the profession, bringing people into the classroom faster, supporting transition from an old career into teaching, and incentivising the transition to teaching.
"The government will engage in discussions with universities around how an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) degree can be made more bespoke for each mid-career entrant - 'frontending' the qualification depending on where the candidate's skills are lacking so that the candidate can get teaching sooner - with the remainder of the qualification being 'backended' - and completed whilst the candidate is employed at a school," Ms Mitchell said.
Ms Bennett added UOW would work closely with NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), the government and employers to fine tune the plan.
"It is important that the high accreditation standards are maintained, which I'm sure they will be," she said.
"I think this move reflects the ambitions of a lot of different stakeholders, including schools who may have a shortage of teachers."
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