Interview with Student Teacher

SY – What are your job prospects like? Maria – I am not at all confident about getting a job in the current climate. Having spent three years studying it looks as if it is for nothing. I have applied for advertised vacancies but I haven’t even got interviews because this year there are loads of experienced teachers who are now unemployed because of the cutbacks, competing with those of us who are newly qualified. I have also sent out lots of CVs but haven’t got a single reply.

SY – What are your job prospects like?

Maria – I am not at all confident about getting a job in the current climate. Having spent three years studying it looks as if it is for nothing. I have applied for advertised vacancies but I haven’t even got interviews because this year there are loads of experienced teachers who are now unemployed because of the cutbacks, competing with those of us who are newly qualified. I have also sent out lots of CVs but haven’t got a single reply.

It looks at the moment that I will have to settle for substitution work or a job in a private school that will pay a lot less than the agreed rates for teachers. I have been offered a post in a private pre-school for children with special needs that will pay me €20,000 a year – about half of what I should be earning as a qualified teacher. There are 30 students qualifying this year in my college – only four have teaching jobs lined up.

SY – Are government cutbacks affecting you in any other way?

Maria – Due to an illness, I have been in receipt of disability allowance. Because of the cutbacks to the back to work allowance implemented in the mini-budget, I am in a terrible bind. If I take up the only job I’ve been offered – the low paid work in a private school, I’ll lose a benefit that is essential to me given my condition – my medical card. It’s barely worth my while to work in this job as a result. As a young person and a dedicated teacher, I feel I’ve a lot to offer but have been cheated out of a future due to government cutbacks in education and health that has put me in this position

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Post election: They’re bringing in fees!

By Conor Payne, UL Socialist Youth

AFTER INITIALLY saying it would announce its plans in relation to college fees in April, the government has delayed the decision. The hated Fianna Fail and Green government want to minimise the amount of “bad news” in the run-up to the European and Local Elections. Young people will not be fooled by this approach. There is no doubt that fees are on the cards and that they will deny access to education for thousands of young people.