More and more teachers are upping sticks and moving down under, tempted by the offer of sun, sea and doubled salaries. Rob Frain, a teacher from Southport, is one of them.
Lighter workloads, double the pay, and a barbeque on the beach after the school day ends; that’s the life promised to UK teachers who move to Australia. Rob Frain, 41, a teacher from Southport who recently relocated to Perth with his wife and two children, says: “Pay is a massive factor. In the UK, I’d be earning about half of what I earn currently teaching in Australia.”
Experts from the UK’s leading relocation company, John Mason International Movers, are reporting a drastic rise in enquiries from UK teachers looking to relocate to Australia. Many are citing lighter workloads, higher-pay, and better work-life balance as major factors behind their decision, contributing to a growing classroom brain drain in British schools, as with more and more teachers commit to making the move.
Rob adds: “In England we were working flat out and financially just getting through it. Whereas over here we’re [Rob and his wife] working less hours, happier to do it and have more disposable income.”
For instance, average wages in Australia surpass $94,500 AUD according to recruitment experts Indeed. Some Aussie local authorities, such as those in Western Australia, are even advertising generous packages to entice the move, covering flight costs and fully funding temporary accommodation to help teachers settle in down under.
British teachers are in high demand in countries across the globe, due to their professional standards and the strong reputation of their UK university degrees. However, with the UK cost-of-living crisis and a tax burden at its highest level for 70-years, teachers are putting their families’ futures first.
“We have much more time for family time now, and raising children in Australia is by far preferable, it’s a much better quality of life with more opportunity.” says Rob, saying that in the weeks since he’s made the move, he’s already noticed his children, who are seven and three, going outside much more and on their phones much less.
“[Australian teachers] for example go to work the same time as we do [British teachers] at 7:30 or 8 o’clock and they’re back at home with the family come 3pm and at the beach by twenty past.”
“I went in on my first day and I finished at 14:40 and asked the headteacher ‘what do I do once the kids have all gone?’ and they replied ‘its home time – go home! Enjoy the Sun!”
The work-life balance is certainly an attractive pull for teachers with young families. British teachers work some of the longest hours in Europe clocking in at an average of over 52 hours a per week. More than the average MP, and most teachers across Europe according to Engage Education.
Even in the short weeks he’s become an Aussie resident, Rob is sure on his future in the country: “I’m looking into citizenship, but you have to wait at least four years. I want dual citizenship for the kids, their quality of life is the driving force behind that decision.”
The brain drain in classrooms has significant implications for the UK. Statistics from Personnel Today paint the picture with over 2,800 vacancies in 2023 alone, up 20% on the year prior. The shortage is certainly worrying as industrial impasses have continued to result in classroom doors shut, with eight days of strike action staged last year.
Relocation experts are therefore finding it no surprise, teachers are becoming a growing portion of their clientele.
Simon Hood, Executive Director of John Mason, says: “This trend has been undeniably rising over the last few years. Understandably the profession has been under increased pressure between COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, pay packets are being increasingly stretched.”
For more information on John Mason International and the services they provide please see here.
