Teachers 'swamping job vacancies'

The government was accused of "destroying" the hopes of teachers

Hundreds of teachers are struggling to find work in Scotland and are leaving the country, Labour has claimed.

The party said in one local authority, North Lanarkshire Council, the average number of applications for a teaching job was 239.

Labour is in the process of contacting every local authority in Scotland to find the national picture.

The Scottish Government said 89% of newly qualified teachers were employed in teaching, up 10% since the autumn.

Labour education spokeswoman Rhona Brankin said: "What chance does a young professional have of becoming a full-time teacher in Scotland now?

The latest GTCS [General Teaching Council for Scotland] figures out earlier this month show 89% of newly qualified teachers are employed in teaching Scottish Government spokesman

"What we will see are teachers voting with their feet and going to England or even abroad to find work.

"Fiona Hyslop's handling of the teacher recruitment crisis is shameful. She is destroying the hopes of hundreds of teachers."

A Scottish Government spokesman said Labour have "lost the plot" in attacking the record of a Labour council.

He said: "They are also conveniently forgetting that teacher numbers were higher in 2007 and 2008 under the SNP than in all but one year of the Labour/Liberal administration, while at 13.1 pupil-teacher ratios in Scotland are at a record low.

"The latest GTCS [General Teaching Council for Scotland] figures out earlier this month show 89% of newly qualified teachers are employed in teaching - up 10.4% since last autumn, and the percentage of post-probation teachers in Scotland that are not in employment has fallen dramatically over the past year, from 21% to 10.6%."

He said April's Jobseeker Allowance figures showed in England there were 6.6 teacher claimants per thousand compared with 4.3 in Scotland, the lowest in the UK.