Shortages of teachers in state-sector schools in England have become an increasingly serious challenge since the pandemic, with potential knock-on effects for the quality of pupils’ learning.

Persistently inadequate recruitment and falling retention have spurred promises of policy action, with the new Labour education secretary pledging to deliver on a manifesto commitment to recruit 6,500 new teachers into the education system.

Research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) shows that the key to this lies in improving the attractiveness of teachers’ pay and working conditions.

But with recruitment into initial teacher training (ITT) more than 20 per cent lower than it was just before the pandemic, it is worth asking whether the problem goes deeper than just uncompetitive pay and working conditions.

Teacher recruitment: is teaching now less attractive?

Evidence from the United States shows that interest in teaching among American high-school students has fallen in recent years.

Those graduates who are interested are motivated to consider teaching in order to have a positive social impact through their career.

If the values and desires of a new generation of graduates have changed to be less pro-social, then this could be a severe headwind for policymakers in attempting to improve teacher recruitment and retention.

Little evidence exists on shifting career motivations in England and the implications for teacher supply.

At NFER, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we have used 20 years of data to look at the changing career intentions of young people.

Gen Z: a new hope for teacher numbers

The findings, published today, show that young people’s career preferences predict whether they will enter teaching.

For instance, a 19- to 21-year-old who says that “helping others” or “contributing to society” is an important consideration for their future career is more likely to become a teacher by the age of 25 than someone who does not say that.

Conversely, young people who say that “earning a high income” is very important are much less likely to become a teacher.

Career aspirations towards teaching also start early and are strongly predictive of whether someone becomes a teacher later on. Among those who became a teacher by 25, more than 60 per cent had said they wanted to be a teacher when they were younger.

Our findings also reveal that Gen Z have become slightly more socially-orientated in their career preferences than earlier generations.

We found that a 19- to 21-year-old born in 2002 (now aged 22) is seven percentage points more likely to say that “helping others” or “contributing to society” is very important to their future career than a 19- to 21-year-old born in 1985 (now age 39) was.

Interest in teaching has also remained broadly consistent over the past decade. Each year from 2011 to 2021, around 5 per cent of young people have said they wanted to be a teacher.

This suggests that Gen Z’s career values are not all that different from those of previous generations. In fact, there are slightly more Gen Z young people that fit the motivational profile of a teacher, and a similar proportion interested in teaching, compared with Millennials.

The importance of the fundamentals

Gen Z’s values lend themselves well to the teaching profession.

Teaching is an occupation that involves working directly with young people and it can appeal directly to young people’s pro-social ambitions while also providing 13 weeks of holiday during the year.

Policymakers need to work to ensure that this inherent attractiveness is not undermined by a lack of competitiveness in pay, a lack of access to flexible working and high workload.

There is a clear path forward - recently published NFER evidence shows what a long-term pay strategy to support teacher supply might look like.

Our recent evidence reviews show what can be done to address excessive teacher workload and how schools can support the implementation of flexible working.

Seizing the moment

There is a pool of socially motivated young people out there - Gen Z youth are more likely to fit the profile of a future teacher than Millennials were at the same age.

The sector, therefore, has an opportunity. By improving the fundamental offer of the job, policymakers can ensure that more and more young graduates choose to enter teaching.

The interest is already there - the new government should take steps to make the most of it.

Dawson McLean is an economist with the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)

Struggling to recruit the right teachers for your job roles? Find out how Tes’ Staff Management education recruitment subscription can help you find your perfect candidates