The UK's education system may be on the brink of a shortage of qualified teachers, but the opposite is so true in Australia that many teachers from down under are now heading to Britain in order to get themselves a job. 

According to Point to Point Education chief executive Emma Liddell, in the last four years, more than 500 young teachers from Queensland alone have headed over to the UK to work in schools. 

And this number could even grow further in the next few years as Australia sees a shortage of jobs for new teachers to fill. At the moment, more than 6,400 teachers are on waiting lists for both short and long-term positions across the nation. 

Whereas in the past, some Australian teachers have been happy taking on other roles until such times as they are able to find a job in the education sector, more are now feeling adventurous and heading to other nations. 

“A lot of teachers are in hospitality and retail because they can’t get jobs in teaching. They’ve paid their university fees but can’t even use their degrees. It’s really sad,” said Ms Liddell. “Most graduates want to travel and get some good solid experience, so with the teacher shortage in the UK, they can really get that.”

The UK also offers qualified teachers from other nations the chance to progress through their career reasonably quickly, with many able to climb the ranks far quicker than they would back in Australia. 

The fact that teachers from Australia can find work more easily than they would back home, and that they can move up the career ladder quite quickly means there is a real possibility of more teachers moving to the UK. This could be a real boost to the nation, where we have previously seen worries about a shortage in the number of skilled teachers needed to meet demand.