I caught an item on the BBC’s Reporting Scotland last week trumpeting the fact that a quarter of probationer teachers in Scotland last year had found a job in teaching. This statistic was greeted as if it was a good thing.

Now think for a minute. All those trainee teachers, with all that money invested in training colleges to prepare them for the job, their time and effort in their probationary year, the time and effort of their mentors and teaching colleagues who provided them with advice and support, in other words plenty of resources expended on this endeavour and three-quarters of them, 75%!, have no job available for them at the end.

Isn’t that a scandal?

All those young aspirants with hope of their chosen career dashed. All that time, effort and (let’s not forget) government money – our money if you like – spent in getting them up to speed; only for them to end up jobless.

Is it beyond the powers that be to make a projection of likely pupil numbers a year or so ahead and tailor teacher trainee numbers accordingly? They do have at least four years to mull over the birth statistics before children reach Primary School age and another seven till Secondary School enrollments.

And I doubt if many of the “lucky” 25% have been offered a full-time permanent contract.