Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: The state government is recruiting teachers on Instagram and TikTok

Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The state government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is trying to cope with the generational change in the education sector.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: The state government is recruiting teachers on Instagram and TikTok

Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The state government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is trying to cope with the generational change in the education sector. "We are the first federal state to advertise with a campaign for teachers since 2014," said Minister of Education Simone Oldenburg (left) on Wednesday in Schwerin at the presentation of the current advertising campaign. The ministry intends to expand the offensive search for skilled workers to include educators in the near future.

This year there are 600 vacancies in the schools in the north-east. The reason is that teachers are retiring, and the generation change is already in full swing, especially at vocational schools. The need for new teachers will remain at about this level until 2024, Oldenburg said. According to the forecasts, the number of pupils will then fall, which will also reduce the need for teachers.

The state's advertising campaign, which costs around one million euros, also uses social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to attract students and teachers who are willing to change. The focus here is on keeping potential applicants in the country or bringing them back, explained Rita Gerlach-March, the officer in charge of recruiting young teachers.

Minister Oldenburg made it clear that "poaching" would not take place in other federal states - this had been agreed between the states in the Conference of Ministers of Education. An exception to this is the area of ​​vocational schools, since not all subjects can be trained in one's own country due to the variety of training occupations.