Teachers: The number of teachers in Scotland has fallen in recent years. Dave Thompson/PA

Those wanting to change careers and become a science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) teacher will be given a £20,000 bursary from next year, the education secretary has announced.

John Swinney made the announcement on the opening day of his party's conference in Glasgow on Sunday.

The Scottish Government has been trying to encourage more people into the profession after overall teacher numbers fell by more than 4000 since the party took office in 2007.

Increasing STEM subject teachers has been identified as a priority for the devolved administration.


Announcing the bursary, Swinney said: "These 'career-changers' still need to go through initial teacher education - we will never compromise on quality - but we can make it easier for them to make that career change.

"We understand that giving up a salary for a year while they do their teacher training is a real barrier for them.

"I can therefore announce today that from next year we will offer bursaries of £20,000 per person to help these career changers make that change.

"Conference, we have faith in our teaching profession and we are backing that faith with more power and more resources."


It is expected the bursaries will come into place from August 2018.

Those applying for the grant must have a relevant 2.1 degree and meet the other standards for trencher training courses.