This paper discusses the recent rise in teacher recruitment problems in England and examines possible causes. These are varied, but a main cause appears to be the increased variety of programmes on offer, which, it appears, is confusing applicants. Three different programme's trainees were asked to complete questionnaires at the start of their study, to ascertain why they had chosen that programme and what their expectations of it were. Follow up interviews of a small number of trainees was completed one term into the programmes to discover how trainees were progressing. Results showed that trainees lacked clear understanding of what the programmes offered and were very influenced by their previous experiences in education and employment when choosing a training route. [For the complete Volume 14, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568088.]