Design Needs Teachers
For the first time in many years, there is a clear pathway in Victoria for practising designers to become secondary Design and Technologies (D&T) teachers, and it arrives at a moment when the profession, and the state, need it most.
RMIT University has introduced a Master of Teaching Practice (Secondary Education) that includes a Design and Technologies double method specialisation, with an accelerated 1.5-year option. Applications open on 3 August. Anyone who has read the Victorian Curriculum for Design and Technologies will recognise the territory immediately as it reads remarkably like an industrial design or fashion design program, spanning design thinking, prototyping, materials, technologies and ethical decision-making. For DIA members, the transition into the classroom is shorter than you might think.
Why the DIA got involved
This development did not happen in a vacuum. In August 2025, the DIA wrote to the Victorian Minister for Education, the Hon. Ben Carroll MP, urging the continuation and expansion of targeted teacher education scholarships in Design and Technologies. The letter was informed by the expertise of colleagues across the sector, and the position it put was simple: D&T is not an optional extra. It sits at the intersection of creativity, innovation and technical capability, and it is directly aligned with the pathway into a design career. It is also the learning area where students most directly engage with sustainability, circular design and the responsible use of materials, making it central to preparing future generations for the environmental and social challenges ahead.
The evidence we put before the Minister was stark. A Design & Technology Teachers Association (DATTA) Victoria survey found that 97% of schools reported difficulty finding qualified Technologies teachers, 88% were covering the subject with teachers from other learning areas, and more than a quarter had reduced their D&T offerings altogether. Departmental workforce data recorded around 1,000 vacancies for Design Technology teachers in Victorian government schools alone, while D&T teacher training represented just 0.3% of all initial teacher education enrolments in the state, with no dedicated program running at any Victorian university.
That last point is what makes the RMIT announcement so significant. The pipeline that simply did not exist a year ago is now being rebuilt - the result of sustained, collective advocacy in which the DIA was proud to play its part.
Why it matters for the profession
The DIA supported this issue because secondary D&T education is the front door to a design career. Victoria's design economy contributes $5 billion annually to GDP and directly employs 85,000 people. If students never encounter well-taught design and technologies at school, the profession's future talent pipeline narrows, along with the state's innovation capacity. For designers passionate about sustainability, teaching offers an opportunity to influence thousands of future designers, engineers and innovators throughout their career.
But there is a second dimension, and it speaks directly to our membership. Many experienced designers are looking for ways to extend or diversify their careers - to give back, to share hard-won industry knowledge, or to build a more sustainable working life. Teaching offers exactly that, either as a full career transition or as part-time work in schools alongside continuing design practice.
This is about more than filling vacancies. It is an opportunity to help regenerate Design and Technologies education, influence the next generation of designers and innovators, and contribute to research and curriculum innovation that can extend into university partnerships and academic careers.
The timing is favourable on the financial front too. The 2026 Teach the Future Fellowship program offers scholarship support for those retraining as teachers - support the DIA and its sector partners advocated for, and we are awaiting confirmation of the continuation of this STEM industry scholarship for 2027. And while the Victorian Teacher Workforce Agreement remains under negotiation, teacher salaries are expected to rise substantially, making a move into education more financially viable than it has been in a long time.
A shared achievement
Progress on this scale is never the work of one organisation. The advocacy behind the ministerial letter and the new teaching pathway has been a genuinely collective effort, drawing on representatives from the DIA, the Design and Technology Teachers Association (DATTA), Uprising, Inspire Group and RMIT University. Each brought a different vantage point - classroom practice, teacher education, industry and the design profession itself and the outcome is a great example of what the design and education communities can achieve when they pull in the same direction.
Whether your passion is mentoring the next generation, advancing sustainability, helping regenerate Design and Technologies education or contributing to research and innovation, there has rarely been a better time for practising designers to consider teaching.
Interested?
Explore the Master of Teaching Practice (Secondary Education) at RMIT.
Applications open 3 August: www.rmit.edu.au (search MC220).
For more information contact: Peter Murphy peter.murphy3@rmit.edu.au
If you are considering the move and would like to hear more, register your interest with the DIA admin@design.org.au as we are exploring a member information session with RMIT later in the year.
*Awaiting confirmation of STEM Education Focused Scholarships for 2027