When a teacher invests in a student, the effects can last a lifetime. For Chloe O’Neill, a second-year education student at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, one such investment changed everything.
During a gap year, work as a physiotherapy assistant gave O’Neill pause. English — the subject she had loved at school — kept pulling her back. Teaching, once dismissed, began to look like the right path.
“Teaching was originally presented to me as an option by my Year 7 English teacher, who encouraged me because of my passion for English,” O’Neill said.
“I also really liked the idea of helping shape and inspire people like the great teachers I had in high school.”
World Teachers’ Day falls in Australia on Friday, 30 October 2026. The theme this year is “Shine a light on teachers.” O’Neill’s story is a fitting reminder that one relationship can redirect a life. It also prompts a harder question. Are the right systems in place to make those relationships more likely?
Behind the warmth, a workforce under strain
O’Neill is now enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (K–12) at Charles Sturt’s School of Education. She chose Port Macquarie for its coastal lifestyle and space for her horses. She also chose it knowing the university offers financial assistance and a guaranteed graduate teaching position.
Her story intersects with a workforce picture that is growing more urgent. According to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), an estimated 22% of Australia’s teaching workforce is in its early career period. AITSL defines this as the first five years of practice, in its National Trends: Teacher Workforce report published in June 2026. The figure points to a narrowing pipeline as experienced educators move toward retirement.
The pressures on those who remain are well documented. Full-time classroom teachers log a median of 50 hours weekly during school term, according to AITSL’s June 2025 National Trends data. Unsustainable workloads continue to push teachers out of the profession.
The burden falls hardest on regional schools, which already struggle to attract and keep skilled professionals.
O’Neill chose regional study consciously. But her experience points to something systemic. Schools can either build the conditions for teacher mentoring deliberately — or leave it to chance.
The case for structured teacher mentoring
According to the Australian Teacher Workforce Data (ATWD) report, just 55% of early career teachers received a formal induction in 2023. That figure covers teachers with up to five years’ experience, down from 61% in 2019. Among induction activities, mentoring was rated the most useful by 55% of those who received it.
Education leaders have noted that the national conversation around teacher workforce sustainability increasingly centres on early career support. When teacher mentoring is embedded and resourced, teachers are more likely to stay. And when teachers stay, students experience the kind of sustained, trusted relationships that O’Neill herself received as a Year 7 student.
O’Neill wants to be that teacher. She does not yet know whether she will teach primary or secondary students — her degree qualifies her for both. She is, in her own words, excited to find out.
“Being someone that students can feel comfortable asking questions of, encouraging them and instilling confidence,” she said.
That is precisely what her English teacher gave her. For school leaders, investing in teacher mentoring and induction is not a workforce administration task. It is how the next Chloe O’Neill gets made.