- Hon Erica Stanford
The Government's ensuring more children learn from quality teachers by delivering the largest annual increase in the teaching workforce in two decades.
"We want to grow, promote and support the education workforce who every day deliver real change in the classroom. We are providing a world-leading education system with all the support teachers need to deliver it. It's really encouraging this is resulting in more people choosing to become teachers," Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
The schooling teacher workforce grew by 2.5% in 2024, delivering 1,864 new teachers, the largest year-on-year increase since records began in 2009 and slightly outpaced student roll growth. 1,128 new teachers were in primary, while secondary teachers grew by 736.
"We're seeing growth across the board. Every region has more teachers than it did a year ago, with particularly strong increases in South and West Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Canterbury. That's a clear sign our reform of the education system is giving people the confidence to choose teaching as a career."
In 2024:
- First-time domestic enrolments in Initial Teacher Education rose by 6.3%, from 3,400 to 3,615. This includes increases across early childhood, primary, and secondary sectors, marking the highest entry rate into teaching since 2009.
- the average total pay for primary teachers was over $94,000 and around $101,000 for secondary teachers.
- on average, secondary principals were paid over $200,000 while primary principals were paid over $150,000.
"From scholarships and onsite training pathways to removing financial barriers like registration fees, we've made it easier for people to take that first step into the classroom, and it's working."
"We know there's still more to do to ensure every student has a quality teacher in front of them. That's why Budget 2025 includes even more investment to grow and strengthen the profession" says Minister Stanford
Budget 2025 includes $53 million to cover teacher registration fees through to 2028, alongside expanded training pathways for aspiring principals and support for returning and overseas-trained teachers.
"Great teachers are the single most important factor in a child's education. We're backing our education workforce - from training to registration to the classroom - because when we support teachers, we support better outcomes for every learner," Ms Stanford says.
