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A new report out on the academic workforce finds it is heading for tough staffing times.
The report by Universities New Zealand shows the academic industry is struggling to replace leaving and retiring staff.
Between 560 and 920 people need to be recruited every year to maintain current levels. In 2008, new recruits were below the minimum.
Dame Margaret Clark, who has worked at Victoria University for more than three decades, says it is not the lifestyle choice it used to be.
"I think the future is a lot tougher than my past was. I think that universities were much more gentlemanly, much more relaxed, much less judgemental," she said.
The pressure has also increased in her department, where student teacher ratios are 1:47, when they should be 1:15.
New Zealand universities also have to compete with lucrative overseas offers and the private sector for recruits.
That pressure could be putting-off younger lecturers. Fifty-nine percent of the academic workforce is 45 or older, considerably more than the national average of 40% as revealed in the last census.
Derek McCormack from Universities NZ says upping pay is the key.
"We're going to have to look at how do we increase our relative funding from all sources: international funding, funding from government, funding from private sector, in order to lift our pay rates," he said.
He says universities need to be clear with government about the challenges and pressures they face.
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