The teaching profession is the backbone of any education system; however, across Europe, schools face increasing challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. Teacher shortages impact the quality of education and place additional strain on existing staff, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction. To address this crisis, it is vital to make the teaching profession more attractive by improving career structures, ensuring professional growth opportunities, and enhancing job satisfaction. Career progression plays a key role in motivating teachers, yet many education systems struggle with bureaucratic barriers, limited specialisation options, and a lack of formal recognition of teachers’ expertise. Without clear and rewarding career pathways, the profession risks becoming less appealing to both new entrants and experienced educators, exacerbating the shortage of skilled teachers.
We are excited to share that our Visionary Analytics team has begun work on a study titled “Empowering Tomorrow’s Educators – Education Employers Supporting the Teaching Profession through Career Progression Structures,” commissioned by the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) through the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) Social Prerogatives and Specific Competencies Lines (SocPL).
Research methods include literature review, survey, best practice collection, and project events: two Peer Learning Activities (PLA), a webinar ‘Policy Lab’, and a final dissemination conference. The overall aim of the study is to address teacher shortages in Europe by increasing the attractiveness of the teaching profession, with a particular focus on teacher career structures. The research study is part of a larger project that aims to build the capacity of education employers to strengthen their position in the social dialogue regarding this topic.
Specifically, the research study aims to:
- Identify, share, and upscale best practices enhancing teacher satisfaction and motivation, emphasising career progression and addressing causes of dissatisfaction.
- Explore the role of education employers in mitigating challenges related to specialisation and formal recognition for teachers.
- Identify best practices for implementing performance-based promotion programmes tailored to national and school-level contexts.
- Compare national frameworks and school practices providing professional development opportunities, assessing accessibility, relevance, and bureaucratic barriers.
- Map different career pathways within schools leading to leadership positions, addressing bureaucratic and inequality-related challenges.
The project is expected to be completed by January 2027.
