There was no talk of recession or education cuts when the current cohort of trainees signed up to become secondary school teachers. But things have changed and, uncertain of getting a job, some are even thinking of emigrating, writes Louise Holden

THE TRAINEE teachers of NUI Maynooth emerged ashen-faced from the lecture theatre on a wet day in mid-November. They had just had a session with a union representative, come to break the bad news about their career prospects. One student was heard to remark that he was off to the fees office to see if he could get his €5,000 back.

"We all came out asking each other - what have we done?" says Aoife McGillicuddy, a HDip student from Clane. "When he laid out the exact implications of the budget cuts on our job prospects we were shocked." It's no secret that a thousand teaching places are to go, but some of the less publicised budget cuts of 2008 will make the jobs pool for HDip graduates even smaller. The early retirement option has been abandoned so there will be even fewer places for new entrants. Cuts in funding for in-service training will mean that many teachers currently on secondment as trainers will soon be returning to their schools. Finally, the removal of the entitlement of teachers to take days off without a medical certificate will mean less demand for substitutes. Newly graduated teachers will have fewer opportunities to practise their craft.

Many have taken quite a gamble to train as secondary teachers for the Irish system. "A quarter of our students are over 30 and come to us from other careers," says Rose Dolan, programme co-ordinator for the post graduate diploma in education (PGDE) at NUI Maynooth. "They have families and homes and have given up salaries to come and study." The PGDE, or 'Dip', as it is usually known, has considerable cache in Ireland now. There are many more applicants than places - in 2008 there were 2,455 applications for 870 places in the NUI colleges of UCD, UCC, NUI Galway and Maynooth. Only students with excellent academic and professional records make it onto the course. This is peculiar to Ireland: in other parts of Europe teachers are difficult to recruit.

"At international conferences I am often asked why Irish people are so enthusiastic about teaching," says Rose Dolan. "Why do we have a waiting list of high calibre people hoping to do the HDip? External examiners, from outside Ireland, always comment on the high standards here. It's a point that often gets lost amid other debates." The demand for post primary teacher training was not always so high. There was a time when the Dip was seen as a default option by some, and getting a place on a programme was almost as easy as raising your hand. Now, places are allotted through the Postgraduate Applications Centre, and you need a high PAC score to get one.

"The highest PAC score you can get is 56 and it is based on your performance in college, professional experience and teaching experience," Dolan explains. Few students get a place on the PGDE with a PAC score lower than 40.

Students from a business background have to do better than others to get a place. There are so many students from the world of business trying to get into teaching that the PAC has introduced a quota of 10 per cent. It seems that many people choose to leave the rat race for the relative security of teaching - and now that the ship is sinking, there may be more.

Irish language teachers, on the other hand, are in short supply, and NUI Galway offers places to gaelgoirs at a slightly lower PAC score.

Teachers of all hues are likely to struggle for jobs next year, however.

"It's difficult to imagine what will happen next September," says Nicola Reidy, a PGDE student in Maynooth. "Lots of people in the class are talking about heading to New Zealand or Australia. I don't want to leave but I do want to teach so I won't stay here if I can't work in a school. There are brilliant teachers being produced but now it looks like there will be no work. This wasn't on the cards when we signed up. It's a bit crazy when there are teachers that want to take early retirement and can't. Why keep people who don't want to be in the classroom and refuse people who do?"

In Scotland, Dolan points out, newly graduated teachers are guaranteed jobs for the first year, but paid at a reduced rate. It's a model we could look at here, she says. "We don't want to put newly qualified teachers on ice. We want them to start practising and developing their skills as soon as possible. A large number of our graduates won't get 22 hours from the beginning. They usually start by picking up substitution hours and building a career from there. With the removal of uncertified sick leave it will be hard for many of them to build up enough hours to make a living. Some of these people have left other jobs to teach. They have homes and families to support."

Does Dolan not see an advantage in having staff teachers staying in their classrooms rather than handing their pupils over to substitutes? "It's not that simple. For one thing, the average teacher only takes a little over a day a year off so it's not a major issue in most cases. Also, much of the time teachers leave the classroom to make themselves available for extracurricular activities at the school, and now that flexibility will be lost."

According to Reidy, nobody has bottled yet. "There is a number of students in the class from a business background who have gambled well-paid careers for this, but they're hanging in there. One of the students used to work in property, but she found it too cut-throat. She's determined to show a different side of herself."

Reidy is resisting the doom and gloom. "I will never question my decision to train as a teacher, even if the timing was lousy. I will get work somewhere, even if it's not here."

Aoife McGillicuddy agrees that her choice was the right one, but she fears for the teaching environment she may be heading into. "We went to school during the last big ASTI industrial action and we saw teachers crossing the picket lines and getting flack for that. I hope we don't end up in the same situation. I'm currently doing teaching practice in a VEC - if I stay there I won't be able to join the ASTI so I could be one of those."

Reidy is determined to fight for the profession and is already critical of the unions for not making more noise about the recent cuts. "The TUI is planning a march on December 6th and a number of classmates are planning to attend. We are being trained in a radical period. I think this year's cohort of Dips is more politically aware than in previous years."

She is active in the university union already, and she believes that teachers need to be more proactive now. "Where are all the unions? The education cuts are getting lost amongst all the other budget headlines. It will be too late when they're in effect - we have to get out and make a stand now."

Dolan has sympathy for the HDips who, she said, applied in different times. "There was no talk of recession or education cuts when these students signed up for the programme. The Government has made it clear what we stand to save in fiscal terms. I'm not sure if people are aware how much we stand to lose."

Training day: tales from the chalkface

NICOLA REIDY, CLONEE, CO MEATH

Nicola Reidy did her primary degree in history, geography and English at NUI Maynooth. She worked for a year as the vice-president of welfare at NUI Maynooth Students' Union, and then took on a masters programme in history.

While studying for her master's, she did some teaching hours at her old secondary school and loved it. "Straight students or bowsies - they're all fun to me," says Reidy. "I love the atmosphere in the classroom and the characters that you meet. When you click with students it's the best feeling in the world."

Reidy is keenly interested in politics - school, student, local and national. She coaches the girls' basketball team in the school where she now does teaching practice.

She especially loves teaching Shakespeare and puts a lot of time into preparing classes that are fun. "Teaching is my ideal job. There is no aspect of it that I don't enjoy," she says.

AOIFE MCGILLICUDDY, CLANE, CO KILDARE

Aoife McGillicuddy is a UCD English and geography graduate who spent a year working with the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. During her time in UCD she worked with the disability support services and qualified as a special-needs assistant. Her mother is a special-needs nurse and runs a centre for people with special needs in Clane, where McGillicuddy regularly helps out.

She has a passion for special-needs teaching and would like to apply that in a school setting. "People with special needs are great fun. They don't care how you sound, how you look, where you're from - if you sit down with them and do a jigsaw, or go out bowling, or just spend time, they appreciate it. They give me a lot more than I give to them."

McGillicuddy hopes to train a school choir one day. "I just love the buzz of the classroom," she says.