This is a time of considerable opportunity for teachers and teaching in Scotland. We are about to introduce a new induction system for beginning teachers and a continuous coherent process of professional development beckons for all teachers.

In the near future there will be an entitlement to professional development whether teachers wish to remain classroom practitioners or seek promotion. A national framework of continuing professional development will include the Standard for Full Registration, the Standard for Chartered Teacher and one for headship.

The sense of opportunity is reflected in the Scottish Executive’s advertising campaign aimed at recruiting a wider range of people into the profession.

Nevertheless, problems remain. How do we attract people into a profession where access to training itself is often seen as a significant barrier? If we are serious about recruitment, then we must attract not just the young school leaver, we must also attract the person who wants to change career as well as the person who has had a career break and wishes to return.

Access to initial teacher education programmes will have a huge influence on people deciding to become a teacher. If we do not have an accessible system, we will simply not attract the range of people we need.

At present teacher education in Scotland is seen as a central-belt activity, from Aberdeen to Ayr. If you come from Orkney or Newton Stewart, or you are a mature student, then a full-time PGCE or BEd course may not be feasible. We must look seriously at the type of provision we offer and how we offer it. Throughout Scotland there will undoubtedly be many people who would love to be teachers but who cannot afford to move away from their home area and cannot afford to study full-time. We must ensure that access to initial teacher training is possible wherever people live.

Location, therefore, is important. So are the opportunities to study part-time as well as full-time; so are alternative methods of delivery. We all know that learning is now delivered in a multitude of ways. If children can learn via the Internet or by video link or by other forms of distance learning, can some aspects of teacher education not be delivered similarly? This could open up access not just to those in rural areas but also, for example, to those with disabilities and from ethnic communities.

That is why the present partnership between the University of Strathclyde and neighbouring local authorities in developing a part-time PGCE course should be encouraged. This partnership will hopefully develop a new kind of course resulting in the training of many more teachers, most of whom would never have entered the profession under the present system.

Diversity in the way we deliver will mean diversity in the profession itself. That is of profound importance for a profession which needs to reflect the breadth of the society which it educates. In this context it is important to examine the efforts to train more Gaelic-medium teachers. This initiative involves a partnership comprising the University of Strathclyde, the University of the Highlands and Islands Project and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. A beginning has been made in training Gaelic-medium teachers in the Highlands and Islands. Based at Lews Castle College in Stornoway, PGCE students are placed in local schools and need only come to Glasgow to complete the professional component of their course. In this way half the course is based in their home area. By the session 2003-2004 I hope these students will spend the whole year in their home area.

It is important, of course, to remember that in the middle of all this opportunity there lies the question of quality. The role of the GTC Scotland has always been to ensure that we maintain the highest possible standards both in terms of entry and in terms of the quality of teacher who gains full registration with the Council.

HE question of entry requirements, for example, has not been the purpose of this article. The minister has already announced that a working group will look at entry requirements for teaching in Scotland.

As the professional body, the GTC Scotland fought hard to ensure that teaching became an all-graduate profession. I believe that reflects the firm beliefs of the profession, and that there can be no compromise on such issues.

We can, however, re-examine how we train teachers and we need also to look at the nature of our teaching qualifications. Some of the recent curricular developments such as the 5-14 guidelines and the development of new subjects at Higher Still level have asked serious questions of our system of teaching qualifications in Scotland.

What we need to do now therefore, is to plan for a profession which reflects the diversity of our society and of education. We must ensure a new generation of self-confident teachers takes over - teachers who are not afraid to set the professional agenda.

That is why it is vital to look again at access to the profession and to pose some difficult questions. Teaching is a uniquely demanding and rewarding profession. Not everyone wants to be a teacher; nor is everyone suited to it. But we must ensure that those who do want to teach and who are good candidates should be given every opportunity to pursue their chosen career.

Matthew MacIver is chief executive and registrar of the General Teaching Council for Scotland.