The Irish National Teachers Organisation has called on the Minister for Education to set targets for the supply of additional teachers over the next six years.
It also says there is a need to look at ways capacity in the teacher training colleges can be increased and says there is a need for a more flexible approach to recognising teacher qualifications.
Irish language requirements, in particular, are seen as a barrier to trained teachers from Northern Ireland, the EU and elsewhere.
Because the teacher training colleges are full, the INTO suggests out-reach courses be set up in other third-level institutions and the appointment of more teacher training staff.
The INTO also wants a range of conversion courses for qualified secondary teachers and graduates who are already within the system or who are willing to enter it. This would allow secondary teachers or those with teaching experience to be fast-tracked.
Currently the only course, other than the undergraduate teacher training degree, is an 18-month full-time graduate programme.
In response to the issue of teacher shortage, the Department of Education says the number of trained graduates fell to very low levels in the mid-90s - only 291 graduated in 1995.
Many teachers are angry that warnings about the long-term consequences of closing Carysfort teacher training college were not heeded at the time.
The Department says that the intake to the undergraduate training course is now at 1,000 per year, and a post-graduate course with 280 students started in February.
It says other measures have also been taken to increase the number of trained personnel.
Primary teachers trained in Belfast who studied Irish are now recognised as fully qualified and trained second-level teachers receive full pay as substitute teachers.
EU-trained teachers are now paid the trained rate and have five years to pass the required Irish language exam.
Fully-qualified teachers who trained outside the State can teach in certain categories of school and classes without needing an Irish language qualification, and trained Montessori teachers can also teach in certain categories of special schools and classes.