A central Auckland school is turning to an innovative solution to help tackle the teacher shortage — building housing on-site for future staff.
Students at One Tree Hill college are helping renovate a former state house located on school grounds, which will be used as accommodation for incoming teachers.
One Tree Hill College Principal Nick Coughlan said the ongoing shortage had encouraged schools to be "as creative as they can" when it came to recruiting staff.
"If that means building a house, so be it," he said.
"Gone are the days where applications are exhaustive."
Coughlan the school's on-site housing would be ideal for a couple, or two young teachers hoping to rent together.
"Housing is certainly a barrier, and we're hearing that from our teachers."
The initiative comes as secondary schools face a national shortfall of around 710 teachers, with cost-of-living pressures such as housing continuing to impact recruitment.
The shortage is expected to continue through to 2028, with a shortfall of 190 teachers expected.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Government had introduced a "range of packages" to assist teachers in New Zealand, including voluntary bonding schemes and on-site training programmes.
"We've got about 30% extra people who are currently in training to be teachers," Stanford said.
Mike Jones, education director at Talk Recruitment, said incentives such as subsidised or free housing could significantly boost interest in roles, and was already widely in use across the Tasman.
"We've got around five to ten teachers contacting us a week to travel to Australia, and we've just placed a family in South Australia into regional, free housing," he said.
"If you've got free housing, that's a big bill you aren't paying."
The housing at One Tree Hill College is expected to be completed in September and will be ready for usage next year.


















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