The Teach First NZ programme provides you with the opportunity and support to make a meaningful impact in the classroom and wider community. The Programme is two years long, during which participants are paid a full untrained teacher salary and graduate with a fully-scholarshipped Postgraduate Diploma of Secondary Teaching. After this, participants are fully qualified teachers, with experience in leading social change. Many continue to teach in their schools, and move into management positions; others advocate for change in the non-profit, government, or business sectors.
Acceptance into the Teach First NZ programme means that you can
The Need
The potential of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand is limitless. Access to opportunity is not; nor is it evenly distributed. Aotearoa has one of the highest rates of educational inequality in the developed world, ranking 33rd out of 38 countries. It is 4X more likely to fail a student from a low-socioeconomic community.
The Opportunity
We provide an opportunity for outstanding people with a drive to help lead change, and a firm belief in the limitless potential of all young people, to make a commitment to addressing inequality. We are looking for graduates and career changers who DO NOT currently have a qualification in teaching, as the Teach First NZ programme provides support for you to develop into a highly effective teacher and inspirational leader, to serve the amazing young people in our lowest-income communities across the country.
In the long term, you will be a part of a network of leaders in education and across all fields who are committed to achieving equality in Aotearoa. Our Kairapu (alumni) network is a dynamic force for social change. United by the shared experience and knowledge of the challenges that schools and wider communities face, as well as the commitment to address the issues, our community makes progress toward nationwide equality.
Recruitment process