Rewards, benefits and incentives for country teachers
For many graduates stepping into their new jobs for the first time this year, there is a sense of excitement at embarking on a new adventure. For a few of them, the adventure is enhanced by the fact that they will begin their professional career in a new location, far from home and from the community they’ve known all their lives.
Take the case of Jessica Kearney, who this year takes up a position as science teacher at Yanco Agricultural High School in Griffith – approximately seven hours away from her family home in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
Although this is the first time she will be living away from home, the prospect does not daunt Jessica in the least. In fact, she sees it as opening up a whole new world of opportunities for both personal and professional growth, and is looking forward to the wealth of experiences she knows she will accrue in her new environment.
Before her graduation last year with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney, Jessica paved the way for her future career by applying for employment under the Department of Education and Training’s Graduate Recruitment Program (GRP) – a Department initiative to recruit up to 1,000 of the state’s top education graduates.
The annual program ensures that NSW public schools are able to provide the highest standard of public education and that the critical staffing needs of schools in every location are met.
Opportunity for career development
“I was prepared to teach anywhere in NSW and I indicated as much in my GRP application,” Jessica says. “I knew it would be a good opportunity for my career development from what I’d heard from other people who’d taught in the country and who’d come to the university to speak to us.”
When the call came from the Department offering Jessica the position at Yanco Agricultural High School, she didn’t hesitate.
Working in a rural, non-coastal school like Yanco Agricultural High offers many incentives. For instance, Jessica is provided with accommodation on school grounds in a unit comprising a family living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette.
“I also get my meals provided in the school dining room – breakfast, lunch, dinner, morning and afternoon tea,” she says.
Attractive incentives
Many schools in NSW non-coastal, rural areas offer a range of incentives, benefits and allowances such as medical/dental benefits, hot and cold climatic allowance, vacation travel reimbursement and, in some locations, up to one week’s additional summer vacation.
And at a residential/boarding school like Yanco, there is an additional incentive for involvement in residential duties. “I look after the students after school hours once every fortnight, from 4pm till 11pm,” Jessica says. For this, Jessica gets an extra $9,000 residential allowance on top of her salary.
According to Jessica,Yanco Agricultural High is an ideal starting point for new teachers as it is a small school with a total student population of about 300. “This means smaller class sizes and it also means many more opportunities to play hands-on roles within the school community and to broaden your teaching experiences.”
Gaining employment through GRP
“Applying for employment through the GRP was really easy,” Jessica says. “There was so much support on the internet and through the phone, and it was so easy to go through the whole process.”
The Department’s 2009 Graduate Recruitment Program, officially launching on March 24 this year, will be targeting the “best and brightest” among this year’s crop of education students.
“If you indicate your willingness to teach anywhere in the state, you increase your chances of gaining
permanent employment,” Jessica says.
More details about making a difference to today’s students through the NSW public education system can
be found at teach.nsw.edu.au. Full information about the 2009 Graduate Recruitment Program will be available online on March 24 at teach.nsw.edu.au/grp.
