Is there a solution to the global teacher crisis?

Education has a global teacher crisis. According to UNESCO (February 2024) the global report on teachers reveals an urgent need for 44 million teachers worldwide by the year 2030. This threatens the achievement of a crucial goal: quality education for all, ensuring the future of humanity. To reverse this trend, a combination of policies that improve working conditions, increase salaries, and strengthen training is needed. But while we wait for this reversal, can the gap be lessened? What might the solution or solutions be?

Could the answer be found in professionals who have developed what were until recently known in the education sector as soft skills? Current thinking says this term is outdated and even derogatory and terms like transferable, employability or professional skills are more reflective of their value. For this article, I will use the term professional skills because their acquisition takes time, relates to the bedrock of effective work and feels more ‘respectful’. 

Whatever you or I choose to call them, they are the interpersonal skills that describe who you are or how you interact with others. They are general traits that help people succeed in the workplace. Humans do not have to be born for example a networker, or an empathetic person but can learn and develop these skills throughout a long and joyful career. 

Professional skills are the skills that most employers are looking for when recruiting globally and the ones often cited as missing or lacking. The National Career Service (NCS) UK lists communication and working with others, how to make decisions, organisation whether at work or school, and adapting to difficult situations as those developed through life experience. It states professional skills develop over time. They are the product of lifelong learning, which is the process of gaining knowledge and skills throughout life.

The NCS (UK) continues its list of professional skills to include positivity, flexibility, and problem-solving. With over 30 years in the field of education and latterly in leadership, my list includes these three but cannot ignore the skills of negotiation, adaptability, and resilience. I certainly didn't start my professional life with these in my portfolio or back pocket. Each one was honed after numerous experiences; those which were sometimes positive and sometimes negative, opportunities, job roles that challenged my every fibre, those that required me to sometimes take a leap of faith, and others that required deep thinking. With time served I have learned to navigate, minimise crises, prioritise, and create opportunities for others. 

I suggest that the professional skills an experienced educator can bring to the table could be a short-term solution to the global teacher shortage. They are the ones that have expertise at their fingertips, who can join a team and use their skills for the greatest influence, often saving time and money. Are you reaching out and employing their expertise? 

Before I finish, the term ‘human-centric’ which means seeing the needs, values and experiences of people as most important comes into play here with professional skills. If you would like to know more about this please sign up for a free webinar hosted by our partners, ACEI, on Wednesday 16 July 2025 at 1000 PST - The rise of human-centric skills (in a world of AI). More information is available by visiting the ACEI website.

Jane has a senior leadership career of over 20 years in the vocational sector supported by a background in health, social care and early years. With extensive experience in quality improvement, strategic planning, and professional development, Jane supports practitioners to improve their skill set or direction of working. Having achieved professional success in the UK and Middle East, Jane has a particular interest in female empowerment.