New online recruitment service could save schools 30m a year

A new online recruitment website could reduce the national cost of advertising for school teacher and support staff posts by almost two-thirds, Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said today.

52 local authorities, representing over 8,000 schools, and 32 academies have already signed up to the new Schools Recruitment Service being launched today – offering schools a faster, more efficient and standardised application system to recruit all permanent leadership, teaching, and support staff.

It aims to save up to 30 million annually if all schools in England sign up – with huge savings in time; administration; and the cost of re-advertising posts in national and local media because recruits are better matched to jobs.

Currently it is estimated that schools spend at least 46.7 million annually on advertising and filling 100,000 teaching vacancies and a further 50,000 non-teaching positions such as administrative staff and school catering staff in England.

At the moment there is no uniform approach to filling vacancies – with different schools and local authorities having different application forms and processes which slow down the recruitment process and increase costs.

The Service is launched today in Hurlingham and Chelsea Secondary School in Hammersmith and Fulham – one of the first areas in England to adopt it. Ministers eventually want all local authorities to choose to sign up.

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said:

ìThis is a watershed in how schools recruit staff. Too often recruiting staff takes up far too much time and is a costly, long-winded process. This harnesses innovative online technology to make it a painless, speedy and more cost efficient exercise. Recruitment is not rocket science – it is about matching jobseekers, with the right skills, to the right jobs. This will give schools everything they need to do the job.î

The system uses the latest applicant tracking technology to save schools time and money on their administrative processes. It allows schools and local authorities to upload their job vacancies, whilst candidates can create a personal account to apply for jobs online.

Candidates can submit their job preferences for potential vacancies and receive job alerts for relevant roles that match their criteria – building up a ëtalent poolí, where schools and local authorities can choose to contact suitable candidates directly and invite them to apply for a position.

This will better match candidates and cut down the costs of advertising and re-advertising posts, whilst giving schools a greater understanding of the market and which media source is attracting the most candidates.

Schools or local authorities that do choose to advertise externally will have access to discounted advertising rates with key media through the Schools Recruitment Service. The Service also provides media information to help them evaluate the success of their campaigns to better target future advertising.

Councillor Sarah Gore, Hammersmith & Fulham Council's Acting Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said:
This new way to recruit staff will deliver efficiency gains and will save time. It will allow our teachers to focus on the most important aspect of their work, namely providing a first-class education for pupils and students in schools across the borough.

Graham Holley, Chief Executive of the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) said:

ìThe TDA is pleased to support the Schools Recruitment Service, which will provide the kind of modern, customised online application service that schools and prospective teachers expect. The Service complements the support that the TDA provides to those who choose teaching as a career, and the help with induction and professional development that we offer during their subsequent careers as teachers.î
Steve Munby, National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services said:

The Schools Recruitment Service will be an important service for schools and local authorities, helping them to recruit the very best leaders. It will also benefit individuals seeking new leadership positions by helping them to flexibly manage their applications to get the very best outcome.