More teachers than ever before are coming to the Towns to start their careers in the profession.

Over the past 18 months Medway Council has been working on an action plan to tackle the national challenge surrounding the recruitment of teachers at a local level.

As a result, teachers in the authority’s pool have increased by almost 280. Another 350 prospective teachers have registered their interest to start their teaching career in Medway.

Bosses say the reasons for the increase are the development and promotion of vacancies via a dedicated recruitment website and workshops for head teachers and business managers focused on recruitment and retention of staff.

Other reasons have included increasing the use of online applications and working with private sector companies such as JobsGoPublic and Eteach to ensure Medway schools maximise their outreach when advertising vacancies.

Teaching in Medway has also been promoted internationally to eight countries – including Australia, South Africa and Ireland – in partnership with a number of recruitment agencies.

The campaign and its results have led the council to being shortlisted in the Kent CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) awards for innovative teacher recruitment and the winners are being announced on Thursday.

Ahead of that, the authority will be holding its third annual teacher recruitment fair on Wednesday at the Corn Exchange in Rochester, which is the biggest event of its kind in the Towns.

Cllr Martin Potter, who is a teacher and head of education at Medway Council, said: “I am keen to promote the profession and the council’s recruitment fair really is a great place to hear about the latest opportunities and routes into teaching.

“It offers a platform to learn about all kinds of schools, offering all kinds of opportunities.

“We need to have the very best teachers working in Medway, engaging young people and helping them achieve their full potential.”

Register at www.eventbrite.com. Schools vacancy information can be found at www.medway.gov.uk/teachingcareers.

The recruitment fair on Wednesday, from 3pm to 7pm, will highlight a whole host of opportunities for new teachers, those interested in teaching and people already in the profession.

Around 70 schools, recruitment agencies, teacher training providers and universities will be there, and will know about all the latest vacancies and ways into teaching.

There will also be a chance to meet head teachers from Medway schools on the look out for fresh talent.

Cllr Andrew Mackness, head of children’s services at the council, said: “Following on from our successful recruitment fair last year, we’re pleased to be delivering it again to help get the very best teachers into Medway schools.

“It’s a good opportunity for schools to showcase what they have on offer to prospective teachers, newly qualified teachers and experienced teachers.

"We are hosting it on behalf of both local authority maintained schools and academies in order to meet the challenge of attracting and retaining teachers.

“I’d like to congratulate the council’s teacher recruitment team for being shortlisted in the Kent CIPD awards.

"It’s very well deserved and I wish them the best of luck for the finals next week.”