Why is it so hard to get a job in a secondary school?

[BlackSun1989]

So my husband is doing his pgce to teach secondary history and he's had 6 interviews so far, no job. Well the 6th one was today and they said they'll let him know on Monday. I'm just getting really depressed about it. Is this normal? I've supported him through 6 years of doing a Phd and now his pgce and I was so looking forward to him working and not having to worry about money anymore but now I'm just getting depressed with each rejection. I worry I'll still have to be the main breadwinner and we won't have money to keep my toddler in nursery and I'm 14 weeks pregnant. I really thought it would be easy for him with a PhD and having worked in parliament to maybe teach politics and history. Where is this teacher shortage the government keep going on about?

Where in the country are you?

Devon

If he could offer to teach either Maths or Science along with the History, that might be the game changer.

If not though, tell him not to give up - the right job will come up. He should also ask for feedback from each of the interviews he's been to.

This will sound harsh, but that’s not the intention, but having a PhD is no guarantee of competence as a teacher. It must be that he’s not coming across well at interview. Has he requested feedback, so he can improve his interview technique.

Effective teaching is about the capacity to engage pupils in the learning process. The trouble with being really good at something is that it can be harder to understand why not everyone has the enthusiasm for your subject that you do. Sometimes people who aren’t so well qualified are better able to understand why pupils don’t get it.

If he’s taken lessons as part of the interview process, have they gone well?

Probably quite a lot of competition in Devon.

Had he taught a lesson during his interview?
What was the feedback?
We've been desperate for science teachers but haven't offered a job to candidates/ PGCE trainees who aren't ready yet and we suspect will need a lot of support in their early years.

Maybe he needs to start looking in a much larger town or city where demand is higher?

I would also be asking for feedback .. it can at least give him an idea what he needs to improve on

Is he applying for cover roles? Or as said above offering other subjects/expertise in eg football coaching/netvall/DoE?

This is exactly what I was going to say.

What experience has he got of working with young people ? Far more relevant than a PhD for a secondary teacher.

Some subject areas or in shorter supply than others.
Some parts of the country are more desperate for teachers than others.

Can he get busy doing supply? That way he is helping with the finances and gets his face known in schools which could lead to a permanent job. Even if he still has to apply for posts it will help if they know and like him and he is familiar with the schools ethos and policies and can show that at interview.

Can he tell them (interviewers) about his enthusiasm for running a lunchtime or afterschool club such as a history/chess/warhammer or whatever and as mentioned by a previous poster his willingness to cover other subjects.

Having a PhD doesn't make you a good teacher, nor does having worked in Parliament. He's obviously getting the interviews, so looks decent on paper, but he's not doing well in the observation or the interview. He needs to reflect on the observation and improve his lesson.
Good suggestion from pp for him to do supply.

History is one of the very, very few subjects where trainee targets continue to be met. Combined with the fact that the SW is known for being an area where teaching jobs are competitive. People tend to stay in post a long time, plus all those who move in for a 'better quality of life'.

He has chosen the only subject that consistently produces more teachers than jobs. If he can offer another subject such as RS he is much more likely to be employable as there is a shortage there. If he has physics or maths A Levels even better, he should definitely mention that and look to get some experience in those departments (assuming he is still on placement). He may have to take a fixed term or maternity contract to get a job to start with. It's also still only April, best time for newly qualified teachers to get jobs always used to be the last half term.

Even in the current teacher shortage, PE and history are still popular to train to teach and can be more competitive to get jobs. He will get one, just needs to keep applying and listening to feedback.

Even if he can offer other humanities geog/ RE/ citizenship and whatever subjects he has A levels in? Also, a lot of history teachers teach some English as well.

As previous posters have said more people stay in jobs long term in Devon and it's still quite competitive in some subjects such as history. There will be more jobs coming out in the next few weeks as the 31st May resignation date gets closer

6 unsuccessful interviews would suggest something is wrong with either his interview technique or the lessons he is teaching. History isn't a shortage subject and a PHD doesn't put you ahead when you are only teaching up to GCSE or ALevel.

He needs to ask for feedback and look honestly at the lessons he is teaching. His behaviour management might be an issue as a new teacher too.

@BlackSun1989 , this graph might help with the answer. There's a surplus of history teachers, not a shortage.

Has he tried private schools? They may be more likely to appreciate his PhD because it will help to impress parents.

The phd and parliament stuff is largely irrelevant.
How has his pgce gone? Has he struggled at all or has the feedback been good?
There is clearly a problem with the way he is interviewing, his lessons or his references.
He does need to remember he’s staring at the bottom again. He is inexperienced and
may require a lot of support. He will be cheap, that’s one thing in his favour.
I’ve no idea what the job market in Devon is like. Perhaps not as much available there is in more urban settings. There is a teacher crisis across large chunks of the uk.

I'd do supply teaching to get some experience under his belt. Private schools are also a good idea.

Having a PhD and (especially) working in Parliament is no indicator of whether someone will be a good teacher.
I don't believe that History is a shortage subject at present. Agree with what others have said, he should apply for supply positions to build up his CV

There will be a lot of competition in somewhere like Devon.

Plus maybe he's not interviewing well. Does he come across as thinking he knows it all as he has a PhD?

I once rejected an applicant who told me that he became a teacher because he knew he would find teaching easy. Teaching is not easy and there's a lot more to it than just subject knowledge. In fact subject knowledge is the easiest part of the job!

Hi op, it can be hard to be knocked back when applying for jobs. We're there plenty of candidates for the jobs he applied for? Obviously if he was the only one at interview and not getting the job then that's a bad sign. Also, has he managed to get any feedback? As others have said, there are some shortage subjects in Devon but I wouldn't say history is one of them. I know two excellent history teachers in Devon who are struggling to move schools (I would appoint them) and they aren't getting the jobs either.

Things to make yourself more attractive as teaching candidate: Offer second subject, if doing the pgce now then he has time to get some observations and practice in. Offer A level, again get some experience now. Offer extra curricular activities- Ten Tors / DofE - still time to get on some DofE training walks so he can add that to his applicaiton. Or maybe orgnaising trips to parliament / universities etc. Offering lunchtime clubs to KS3. Marking for the exam board - aqa do sometimes take on pgce students and they were struggling to recruit last year.

A friend of mine who taught history was also able to offer geography, RS, personal development (not sure what trendy title that goes by these days) and also coached rugby and cricket. That was mostly midlands. Unfortunately the West Country, like my birthplace the north east, is one of those places where there aren't many jobs especially in the nicer areas. Is he looking at Plymouth at all? More scope, I'd have thought.