1/03/2024
Erika Whittome
[FYI request #25438 email]
Tēnā koe Erika
OIA: 1321221 – Finders Fee for hiring overseas teachers.
Thank you for your email of 18 January 2024 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) requesting
the following information:
In 2023 in your bulletins, the Ministry was offering a $5k finders fee for hiring overseas
teachers.
1. How many overseas teachers in 2023 did you hire through such a financial incentive
program?
2. What was the total cost of these incentives for 2023?
3. What is the allocated budget for such incentives in 2024?
4. How many teachers have you hired via agencies in 2023 eg Vivid Teachers?
5. What was the cost to you for using such agencies in 2023?
6. How many graduates were there from New Zealand teachers colleges for the year
2023?
7. How many students dropped out of the teachers colleges due to mandates in 2022?
8. What was the total enrolment number in NZ teachers colleges at the start of 2021
and at the start of 2022?
Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The Overseas Finders Fee of $3,450 is paid to schools and early learning centres who employ
teachers to assist with the recruitment costs for overseas teachers.
Regarding
questions one to three of your request, there were 354 Overseas Finders Fees paid to
schools or early learning centres in Financial Year (FY) 2023. The total cost for the Overseas
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wel ington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
Finders Fee in FY 2023 was $1.22m, and the budget allocated for the Overseas Finders Fee for
FY 2024 was $4.38m.
Schools and early learning centres employ teachers, not the Ministry of Education, and they are
able to independently determine how they undertake recruitment, which may or may not involve
utilising a recruitment agency.
The Ministry does not use agencies of any sort to recruit teachers, as schools and early learning
centres conduct their own recruitment. Therefore, the answer to
questions four and five of your
request is 0.
With regard to
question six of your request, the number of graduates from New Zealand Initial
Teacher Education for the year 2023 wil be available around May 2024 on the Education Counts
website. I am therefore refusing this part of your request under section 18(f) of the Act, as the
making this information available outside of this scheduled release date would impose a significant
administrative burden on the Ministry amounting to substantial collation and research. You can
access the page on which this information wil be published by using the fol owing link:
https:/ www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/initial-teacher-education-statistics.
The Ministry does not hold statistics pertaining to the number of students that have dropped out of
the Initial Teacher Education due to mandates in 2022. I am therefore refusing
question seven of
your request under section 18(g) of the Act, as the aggregate information requested is not held by
the Ministry, and I have no grounds for believing that the information is held by or connected more
closely with the functions of another agency subject to the Act.
Regarding
question eight, the figures pertaining to the total enrolment numbers in New Zealand
Initial Teacher Education for the start of 2021 and 2022 are publicly available on the Education
Counts website, using the same provided above in response to
question six of your request. I am
therefore also refusing this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act, as the information
requested is publicly available.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details wil be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Anna Welanyk
Hautū | Deputy Secretary
Te Pou Ohumahi Mātauranga | Education Workforce
OIA: 1321221
