Schools turn to record number of overseas-trained teachers amid shortages

Author: Jamie Cunningham,
Publish Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2026, 5:00am

Schools are relying on overseas-trained teachers at record levels as workforce shortages continue to bite.

Ministry of Education data shows teachers trained overseas accounted for 12.5% of the workforce last year, with 9,772 workers compared with 68,214 domestically trained.

The proportion grew to 13.3% when considering fulltime teachers.

The figures mark a dramatic long-term shift, with overseas-trained teachers making up just 4.9% of the workforce in 2005 and 8.9% in 2015.

Each year since then, the percentage has grown.

PPTA President Chris Abercrombie said the sector’s becoming increasingly reliant on overseas recruitment.

“While successive governments have claimed that overseas teachers are just a stop gap, this data strongly indicates that the Government is relying more and more on overseas teachers instead of investing in a domestic teacher workforce for Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Abercrombie said overseas teachers are a valuable resource - as there would be a lot more students having to be sent home if they weren’t filling the gaps in staff rooms.

Secondary schools employ the largest share of overseas-trained teachers, with 5228 compared with 4544 in primary schools.

NZ Principals’ Federation President Jason Miles said these teachers are often filling vacancies because there aren’t enough New Zealand-trained teachers available.

He said they’re still trained teachers with lots of qualities - but they lack in some areas.

“It’s the context of New Zealand’s environment, understanding Te Tiriti obligations, familiarity with New Zealand curriculum and assessment, cultural context and connections to local communities.”

“So there are a lot of in-school training that are required, for schools who are already stretched.”

Miles said schools are increasingly turning to overseas-trained teachers and those with a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) to keep classrooms staffed.

Newstalk ZB also revealed the number of teachers with a LAT had increased 33% over the last two years.

Secondary schools are under immense pressure for staffing, with the Ministry of Education forecasting a shortage of 710 teachers this year, 510 next year and 190 in 2028 - higher than last year’s estimate of 550 and 330 for this year and next.

But Abercrombie said the secondary teacher supply situation was made worse, not better, by last week’s Budget.

“For the first time in many years, there was no teacher supply package of initiatives – despite a recent Ministry of Education report which admitted that they had underestimated the size of the secondary teacher supply shortage.“

“In fact, the Budget put more pressure on secondary teacher numbers by doubling the number of trade academy places around the motu. The Government needs to urgently commit an urgent expansion of teacher supply initiatives rather than continuing to sit on its hands while schools and students suffer,” he said.

Miles said the Government needs to increase the value of our New Zealand-trained teachers, by making sure that we have an education system that values the work that teachers bring.

He said many Kiwi-trained teachers go overseas for an OE and do some teaching along the way.

“But this is increasingly happening now because of the higher paid teachers’ salaries as well as the better conditions that some countries are supplying them,” Miles said.

Jaime Cunningham is a Christchurch-based reporter with a focus on education, social issues and general news. She joined Newstalk ZB in 2023 after working as a sports reporter at the Christchurch Star.