The media and unions have taken a broad swipe at the sc457 programme today referring to a leaked audit of the program by the Fair Work Ombudsman which suggests that “up to 3,600 [foreign workers] are working as teachers, mainly in early childhood care” when in contrast there are some 4,000 teaching graduate’s still looking for work 4 months after completing higher education.

“Foreign nationals on 457 visas are working in schools and early childhood centres despite a growing glut of unemployed Australian teaching graduates” states The Sydney Morning Herald. Childcare centres and some specialist schools in non-regional areas got special mention as employers who may be overlooking local university graduates for TAFE qualified foreign graduates.

Stephen Dinham, professor of education at the University of Melbourne, told the paper that non-traditional colleges were turning out graduates, particularly in early childhood and primary, worsening the glut of university-trained teachers.

He said the dozen or so different routes into early childhood teaching, from a minimum-level TAFE diploma up to a master's in education from a university, made understanding the sector more complex than primary and secondary schools.

Unions on the other hand have blamed the need for foreign staff on the "inadequate" pay in the female-dominated early childhood sector.

"The fact that early childhood employers are resorting to importing teachers on 457 visas when there is a huge oversupply of graduate teachers will not come as a surprise to anybody involved in the early childhood sector," said Lyndal Ryan, national vice-president of United Voice.

"At the root of this problem are the inadequate wages in the sector. There is a well-established pattern of qualified teachers working in ECEC [early childhood education and care] until they can get a position in the school system because schools pay better, the hours are shorter and there are longer holidays."

United Voice estimates that 180 people abandon jobs in the early childhood sector every week. The industry is the most female-oriented of all, with more than 95 per cent female representation.

Jo Briskey, acting executive director of early childhood advocacy group The Parenthood, also linked wages to the supply imbalance.

"Parents want their kids to get the best-quality education experience from the highest-quality educators," she said. "That doesn't mean that someone who has trained overseas is not qualified to work here in Australia but if wages were more closely aligned between primary and early childhood you would be able to attract more trained Australians and go some way to balancing the oversupply of teachers."

The Productivity Commission, in a draft report into childcare, released in July, signalled dropping the required qualifications required to work with children aged three and under. Groups such as The Parenthood and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth are resisting that.

The report, a final version of which will be delivered to government this month, also advocated government subsidies for nannies to ease the pressure on childcare centres.

Late last year the ABC reported that there are warnings the childcare industry is facing chronic staffing shortages as the Government pushes ahead with ambitious targets on training and child-to-carer ratios.

The adjustments to staff-to-child ratios, means many childcare centres have to recruit more staff. The owner of Majura Park Childcare in Canberra has told the ABC she is being forced to hire overseas workers to fill the gap. Natalie Colbert says she simply cannot find enough workers for her centre.

"It's incredibly hard to find good staff at the moment," she said,"I'm always juggling staff because if I have someone who goes sick or on maternity leave or goes on holidays, then suddenly I'm trying to replace them."

Matt Hodges from Australia's biggest childcare recruiter, Ranstad Education, says the market for quality staff is extremely competitive.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/foreign-teachers-on-457-visas-worsen-graduate-glut-20141020-118x9m.html#ixzz3GiiWbCMr

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-22/childcare-centre-hires-overseas-workers-to-fill-gap/4833888