Erica Stanford

No, I'm not worried about it.

We have been using overseas teachers

more over many, many, many years and it's always used as a bit of a stopgap while we increase numbers domestically and we have been doing that in record numbers.

We've now got the largest numbers of teachers in the workforce since records began.

We've got enrolments in initial teacher education up 30%.

We've invested hugely over the last two budgets to the tune of about a

150 million dollars in teacher training and those numbers are coming on stream and quite big numbers so that primary is now we're in surplus by 500 this year and projected to be in surplus in secondary in the next couple of years so things are looking really good on the domestic front and I'm going to have another announcement the next couple of weeks on that as well.

Schools go out and recruit international teachers themselves and of course they will make good decisions and there are some fantastic overseas trained teachers.

Of course when they come into the country they have to have a period of adjustment because there is

obviously some differences in New Zealand, but that's the same for any teacher coming out of initial teacher education, for example.

They have to learn, you know, how to manage student behaviour and the differences in different schools.

So there is a period of adjustment, but they can be absolutely excellent teachers.

I've met many of them and they're a wonderful addition.

No, that was good muscle memory from when I was seven years old, actually.

Of course, I played woodwind instruments my whole life and fingering is much the same.

So it's good muscle memory.

Relatively true, actually.

Oh, it is?

The fingering is much the same.

Yeah, the fingering's the same for clarinet, bassoon, recorder.