The growing shortage of teachers Vilnius city municipality together with "Edu Vilnius" are inviting you to participate in the free program "I'm starting to teach in Vilnius". On March 17, registration for all those who want to become educators in the updated program format began. Applications are open until May 15.
So far, Edu Vilnius has received over 150 applications, including 7 considering the much-needed path of becoming a math teacher and more than 10 considering working as a Lithuanian language teacher. Last year, a total of 46 people registered to become teachers, of whom 40 were selected to participate in the program.
"A good start is half the battle. That's what makes this program so wonderful. Program participants will receive comprehensive assistance not only in obtaining a teacher's qualification, but also in starting to work at school or returning to it. Registration has not even ended yet, and we can already rejoice in three times more people wanting to teach numbers compared to last year. Such great interest proves that there are indeed those who want to discover the path of a teacher, they just need to be invited and the necessary conditions created," says Vytautas Mitalas, Vice Mayor of Vilnius.
A third of the candidates who have already registered have the necessary subject education, but do not have a teaching qualification and plan to obtain one. A similar number registered for the program already having it – ten people want to return to school after a break, some have already started working but are looking for additional help, and the rest have completed their pedagogical studies but have never tried teaching.
"Interviews have already taken place with half of these candidates. About 40 people did not continue their path in the program because they did not meet the requirements. Some of these people, who have a teaching vocation but do not necessarily have the necessary higher education diploma, are directed to other paths, for example, to try themselves in the profession of student assistant. We carry out the selection responsibly and during motivational interviews we seek to understand whether the teaching path is truly the most suitable choice for the person applying to us," says Unė Kaunaitė, director of Edu Vilnius.
The program "I'm Starting to Teach in Vilnius", which has been running for the sixth consecutive year, is aimed at those who have already worked in schools, those who have a teacher's qualification but have never worked in a school, and those who have had absolutely nothing to do with pedagogy until now. About 30 specialists graduate from it every year.
Pavel Šliachtovič, a mathematics teacher at Vilnius “Laisvės” Gymnasium, who is already participating in the program, says that while still working as a programmer, he felt that he had a teaching streak. According to him, he often doubted whether the chosen profession was meaningful enough. “There were no doubts when teaching mathematics. And my relatives noticed that my mood was significantly better after a lesson than when I returned home from the office,” P. Šliachtovič shares his decision to become a teacher. As soon as he started working at the school, his colleagues suggested that he participate in the “I’m Starting to Teach in Vilnius” program.
"I hoped that the program would give me as much knowledge as possible before the first year of school, so that I would feel as little as possible like fish", thrown ashore. These expectations were not only met, but exceeded. In September, I walked through the school doors quite confident in myself thanks to the training in the program," says P. Šliachtovič.
According to the updated program format, from now on, those who want to become teachers and obtain a pedagogical qualification will collect part of the study credits during the first year in the "Starting to Teach in Vilnius" program, and part - at the university during the second year, instead of the standard one-year studies offered elsewhere. Registration for participation in the "Starting to Teach in Vilnius" program is open until May 15.
