EU Commission Report: Luxembourg Faces Teacher Shortage Despite 'Favourable' Working Conditions

The European Commission has published the 2023 edition of its Education and Training Monitoring report - an annual analysis of developments in education and training systems across the European Union.

This year's report focuses on teachers, including shortages and the attractiveness of the profession.

Among the main conclusions for Luxembourg was that teaching is a "very attractive" profession in the Grand Duchy and teachers are "relatively young" compared to other EU countries (only 9.9% of teachers were aged 55 or older, compared to the EU average of 24.4%). The share of male teachers was among the highest in OECD countries (36%). The report cited "high salaries, good job security, small classes and few teaching hours" as reasons why teaching was an "interesting" profession for young people in Luxembourg.

Despite these "favourable" working conditions, the report found that Luxembourg struggles to fill teaching positions with qualified teachers, largely due to high entry requirements (including language requirements). However, the report also pointed out that qualification requirements differ in international schools.

Moreover, the report noted that the University of Luxembourg has expanded its offer of higher education programmes in the field of teaching. For example, three new "on-the-job" Master programmes are set to launch in 2024/25.

In the area of early childhood education and care, the report found that participation in such structures before children reach the age of three was "relatively high" (54.7% of children under three participated in formal childcare), although it fell below the EU average for children aged three and over (88.9% compared to the EU average of 92.5%).

According to the report, Luxembourg has already achieved the EU-level target (of below 9%) regarding early leavers from education and training (8.2% in 2022). In addition, the report acknowledged that compulsory education will be extended to the age of eighteen (from 2026/27) and will be combined with "expanding the education and training offer to give young people a better chance of getting a qualification."

In the context of the trilingual school system, student performance was found to be closely linked to their socio-economic status and linguistic background. The report added that Luxembourg is increasing its education offer with different language regimes and in public international (European) schools.

On vocational education and training, the report noted that the employment rate of such graduates was "well above" the EU average (92.1% compared to 77.4%) and that Luxembourg was one of the first EU countries to introduce the European Digital Credentials for Learning (EDCL).

Also according to the report, Luxembourg's tertiary educational attainment rate was among the highest in the EU - 61% of 25-34 year-olds had a tertiary degree, compared to the EU average of 42%.

Concerning adult learning, the report found that adults in Luxembourg learned slightly more than in the rest of the EU - in 2022, participation stood at 18.1%, compared to the EU average of 11.9%. And yet, Luxembourg still faces "skill mismatches and shortages", it concluded.

The full Luxembourg report is available online at https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eac/education-and-training-monitor-2023/fr/country-reports/luxembourg.html#1-teaching-profession.