Teacher shortage in Spain hits STEM and vocational training hardest

Teacher shortage, but plenty of candidates: the master's bottleneck

An applicant just paid 1,000 euros for the UNED teaching master's degree. A private institution would have charged 4,000. To get in, they had to compete with other 8,000 applications for 650 spots. That funnel explains the teacher shortage paradox better than any report: the problem isn't that no one wants to teach, it's that the system blocks those who want to and fails to attract those who are needed.

The truth about shortages: math, physics, and vocational training

The headline—teachers are missing—falls apart when you look by specialty. What's in short supply are teachers of math, physics, and chemistry and vocational training in IT, telecommunications, or robotics. These roles compete with the private sector, which pays more and doesn't require competitive exams. In primary school, the problem isn't a lack of qualified graduates: it's who ends up in the classroom and with what preparation.

There's also a regional map that few examine. The shortage concentrates in Madrid, Catalonia, the Canary Islands, and the so-called empty Spain, where fewer candidates are willing to relocate for a salary that doesn't cover rent. In other regions, the same competition receives a flood of applications. The teacher shortage is, first and foremost, a distribution problem.

The teaching master's: 215 hours and three years to a position

The path to teaching in secondary school requires a 215-hour master's degree with a maximum of 5 hours per day, difficult to combine with a job. This adds one academic year of master's study, another year of practicum, and, in the third year, the competitive exam if you're lucky. Those who don't secure a position string together substitute roles, accept interim posts far from home, or remain unemployed.

The cost doesn't help either: from 1,000 euros in public distance learning to 4,000 in private programs. Some regions so desperate have asked the ministry to waive the master's requirement to fill vacancies. In some unfilled positions, that degree isn't even required to teach.

Why doesn't anyone want to teach?

The most repeated argument points to pay. With a salary that doesn't offset the cost of living in major cities and soaring housing prices, teaching loses appeal compared to other professional paths. The comparison is stark: the minimum wage in the District of Columbia reaches 17 dollars per hour, which at full-time exceeds 2,900 dollars a month.

The strain isn't just financial. In the classroom, there are recurrent absences, a dance of substitutes that disorients students, and a bureaucratic burden that eats time meant for teaching. Several parents say plainly: standards drop, days are lost to activities, and newly arrived teachers don't always master the subject they teach.

The regional language that filters candidates

On top of that is a filter rarely discussed openly: language requirements in regions with co-official languages. Some argue that requiring high proficiency in that language reduces the number of applicants and leaves positions filled by profiles who wouldn't have entered without that requirement. The argument remains open, and official figures neither confirm nor deny it.

The coming paradox: classrooms in surplus within a decade

The diagnosis flips when you look at demographics. Births have fallen by around 40% compared to a decade ago. With that pyramid, there won't just be surplus teaching positions: there will also be surplus university students and high school graduates, and several regions are already closing schools due to lack of children.

So, current shortages coexist with future surpluses. And there's no agreement: some believe the adjustment will hit only secondary and university levels, others that primary is already undergoing it. What no one disputes is that the system isn't prepared for either scenario.