The Department of Education focuses on the 2022-2023 academic year with an increase in the offer of continuing Vocational Training (FP) places. So, in this pre-registration there will be 276 more groups (128.5 intermediate level, 51.5 higher level and 39 specialization courses) which will place the total figure at 5,318 groups. It thus seeks to answer the Increased demand by the students, guarantee a place to all students from 4th of ESO and avoid the situation that occurred in the pre-registration for the 2021-2022 academic year, when many people were unable to enroll in the desired specialties. But the VET centers that provide computer science degrees they are alarmed and very worried. They don’t have teachers to teach that discipline. This course they have cheated as they could. And they fear the next course, in which there will be 38 more groups of this specialty. This means that 90 more teachers will be needed, at the rate of two and a half per group.
“The situation is very serious. In Barcelona there are currently 19 unfilled places and in Catalonia as a whole, 40. There are centers that have been without Computer Science teachers for between three and four months and others that have not had it throughout the course. “, exposes Alberto Villadirector of Technological Institute of Barcelona, one of the reference FP schools. In his case, he has three casualties.
The same situation lives in the Joan d’Àustria Institute, which teach cycles of Computer Science. “We were missing two and a half teachers. We have been able to cover one of the vacancies when access conditions have been relaxed and we have been able to hire Higher Cycle graduates. Since November, we have been without a teacher and a half,” he says. Miquel Tarazona, VT coordinator at this center in Barcelona. Think with concern about the next course. “We will need five more teachers because last year we opened a new first-year line that will now go on to the second and we will also offer a new specialization course in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. According to the regulations, there are 2.5 teachers per group,” he explains. restless.
Educació is aware of the situation and urges schools to apply for a substitute teacher in the teachers pool. The problem is that there are no entries in the bag. “The department opens new groups. It says that to meet the demand of students and families. But with which teachers? I don’t know,” reflects Tarazona. The centers have no answer as to how the ‘conselleria’ is going to deal with this problem.
And why are there no teachers? Basically for a economic issue. IT professionals are highly sought after by private enterprise, which offers significant rewards. A FP teacher earns about 1,800 euros per month. “The other day I spoke with two former higher-grade students who finished two years ago and are in the private company. They charge 3,500 euros net per month plus supplements, telecommuting included. We cannot compete with that. We are out of the market,” summarizes Vila. “You cannot compete. An experienced computer engineer can easily earn 50,000 euros. Who is willing to lower their salary to 30,000? Higher-level graduates already earn that,” Tarazona insists.
Nor has it been of much use that, given the lack of teachers, Educació has made the access requirements. Ideally, a university degree in Computer Science is required, the master’s degree to be a secondary school teacher and the C-1 level of Catalan -in 2024 the C-2 will have to be accredited-. These requirements have been lowered: the master’s degree is no longer compulsory and they are beginning to accept higher degree graduates once it has been verified that there are no university graduates. But not like that.
In fact, FP teachers are leaving it to go over to the private company, confirms Tarazona, who has recently had a case like this at the institute. In addition, he himself recently found out that, when contacting a company to ask them to assign him a worker for the Big Data course, the company made him an offer, which he rejected because he has teaching vocation. And here there is also another concern among the FP directorates: the profile of the people who present themselves. “They must have a teaching vocation,” insists Tarazona. And it is that some of the applicants arrive expelled from the private company, something that arouses suspicion. How is it that in a highly employable sector, in which professionals are highly sought after, someone is fired? Do they then turn to teaching as a last option? They wonder.
How do they organize without teachers? “Well, with the good will of the students. The work is taken on by duty teachers and members of the management, but that is not a solution because you overload the teaching staff,” explains Vila, who has refused to take on any newly created group during the course. 22-23. “I have refused because this course we are having a terrible time due to the lack of teachers,” she confesses. At the Joan d’Àustria they have also resorted to eliminating group divisions, although they try to ensure that the situation does not have repercussions on the students.
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“The situation is very serious. I don’t know how Educació intends to solve it,” says Vila. He proposes establishing agreements with companies so that they give a professional for four hours. The problem is that, as a rule, public centers cannot hire teachers for four hours. “Anyway, you can’t plan the entire course based on this either,” says Tarazona. Extending the teachers’ day and paying overtime is also not allowed by the regulations that regulate the teaching function.
Jesus Martinunion VET manager UGTunderline that the solution goes through make hiring more flexible and search synergies with private companies. “The current contracting framework is so restrictive that the Administration is a victim of its own regulations,” he points out. “They should make an exceptional regulation. We are risking the technological future of Catalonia,” she warns. Another option is to dignify the profession and raise salaries. “We are waiting. We will not have teachers,” says Vila.