The federal government recently released Next Steps: Report of the Quality Initial Teacher Education Review.

The report addresses issues of attraction and selection of students for teaching programs, the quality of those programs and how graduate teachers can be supported through the early years of their career to try to improve retention rates in the profession.

The report supports the delivery of quality teaching to ensure students receive a high-quality education by building on the strength of current programs and initiatives.

Catholic education has also been working in partnership with the tertiary sector to develop strategies to support quality initial teacher education and ongoing support for educators.

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) has launched national initiatives to build teacher capacity and support teaching workforce challenges in Catholic schools, particularly in rural, remote and regional areas.

One program, a partnership with Australian Catholic University and the University of Notre Dame Australia, sees teacher education students employed in Catholic schools as paraprofessionals to address localised shortages of teachers and provide paid, in-the-classroom experience. It enables teaching students to find employment and extend their experience in Catholic schools where they are most needed.

Read more about the program here.