Hundreds of new teachers in New Zealand are facing challenges in finding teaching opportunities, with some opting to teach overseas, as more teachers hold on to their jobs and few become available.

The NZ government had earlier spent $19 million on creating programs to attract prospective new teachers to attend training schools and solve the personnel problem in the country's education department.

The training programs were created in response to teachers leaving their schools every year. However, this year shows a different story.

"The number of schoolteachers leaving the profession is at its lowest point for 10 years, and so is the number of teaching vacancies," TeachNZ manager Di Davies told New Zealand Herald.

For several years Immigration NZ had listed secondary school and early childhood teaching in its long-term skill shortage list, but both were excluded from the list last November, the Herald noted.

Ms Davies said the global economic crisis is making teachers hang on to their jobs instead of leaving for other opportunities.

"This is reducing the number of positions available for teachers who are looking for work. As a result, there is now high competition for teaching jobs and they are being filled quickly."

Post Primary Teachers Association president Robin Duff said about 400 to 500 newly qualified secondary teachers were jobless in 2011.

Primary and early childhood schools say they, too, have much fewer jobs available in relation to many applicants for teaching posts.

Manurewa Intermediate principal Iain Taylor told the Herald they received 303 applications for a recently advertised vacancy at the school. The applicants included teachers with experience and fresh graduates from across the country.

Mr Taylor, a former Auckland Primary Schools Principals Association president, said he felt sorry for those skilled teaching professionals who could not find employment in the country, and many are now moving overseas to find work.

"I feel sorry for them. The calibre was amazing... In the end we appointed two people for the one position just because we couldn't choose," he added.

The Herald also spoke to the national secretary of the primary teachers' union the NZ Educational Institute, Paul Goulter.

Mr Goulter said the government should make sure teachers were being looked after.

"In terms of primary, we're being told there are all sort of difficulties. Why do we have lots of qualified teachers sitting on the sideline?"

Mr Goulter said he does not have the number of unemployed teachers, but noted "many frustrated teachers" had finished their training but couldn't find work.

Making matters worse were 156 teaching jobs lost to Canterbury quakes in 2010 and 2011. Schools and their respective budgets were reshuffled due to the quakes.