thedtb

Hello all,

We submitted our EOI in March.

My wife is a primary school teacher (Assistant Head) and she is the main applicant.

Her qualifications have been assessed by NZQA, she's registered with the teaching council and has been applying for Teaching Jobs by way of the Ed'Gazette.

So far she's been unsuccessful and not even been invited to take part in an interview (It's still early days and we're far from panicking though)... the feedback she's been getting appears to infer that had she already been in NZ then she would have at the very least progressed on to the "next" stage and one school even suggested that she should move to NZ and then start applying for jobs - but that just seems like a massive gamble.

I'm curious though...

• Are any other primary school teachers on this forum struggling to find a job in NZ and what kind of feedback have you been getting?
• Have any of you Primary School teachers found it particularly easy to get a job and can you perhaps offer any advice?

Kind regards

David

vicejw

Hi

I'm not a primary school teacher but was looking for work in my field (town planning) prior to being granted PR and although going for various jobs I was well qualified for the general feedback from employers was that as I didn't have a visa and wasn't in NZ they would always consider someone local first and were unlikley to progress my application.

We have now been granted PR on the basis of points and the interview and will just take a chance going over to NZ without jobs, hoping for the best - preparing to take anything for a while if we have to!! Not ideal but it seems you're always at a distinct disadvantage until you're actually in the country and in possession of a visa.....

sorry probably not much help but might be reassuring to know your wife is not alone in the job problem!!

thedtb

Hello - If it was just me and the wife, the prospect of packing up and moving to NZ whilst still in search of a job wouldn't bother me too much at all, in fact I'd relish the excitement and perceived "danger" of the unknown.

My biggest concern (if it comes to having to do something like that) is that we've got two young boys (4yrs and 2yrs) and it just seems like such a massive gamble and enormous upheaval for them should it not work out and we have to move to the other side of the world and back again.

I know they're "young enough to adapt" and so on, but one of the biggest motives for the move to NZ is to (in our opinion) give them a "better" lifestyle than we can provide for them here...

It'd make life much easier if we can secure the job from the UK but if we couldn't and we had to go out there in order to find a job I'm sure we would do it... it's just very concerning.

Is anyone in a similar position (inc kids) - what are your thoughts?

David

bourbon-biscuit

David- I suspect most schools are put off by the fact that you do not (as far as I can see) yet have PR and will know that there can be any number of variables that result in your arrival in NZ taking many, many months. Keep looking but as soon as you get PR make sure your wife's covering letter starts with "I am a NZ PR arriving in NZ in (insert reasonable but as short as possible time frame for her to get over there)" or words to that effect.

I'm not a teacher but worked in a school and observed the selection process twice where there were some international applicants.

Kiwiprincess

One issue you may find is that schools often don't want to take on teachers in the final term (mainly due to holiday requirements I think??). So if looking for work upon arrival she may find relief (supply) teaching is best. When you do arrive make sure your wife has a reliable car and sign on to relief teach.

My mother has worked at a school for years and they have hired staff just on a phone interview but a lot of schools don't like to do that - they like to see how you react with the children. Particularly in my mother's area which is a very low income area (1A)and has challenges perhaps not evident in a decile 10 school.

FWIW, the school my mother is at is a lovely wee school. Also, even though it's in a low income area the nature of Wellington is that you don't need to live in or even particularly near the school to be able to teach in the school.

Not sure where you are headed though

vicejw

Hi thedtb

As mentioned in my previous post I have had no luck finding work from over here so we're going over and taking a chance and like you we have two small children - 2 girls 4 and 1. It is, as you say a huge gamble, but we feel our life here is going no where and our quality of life is not great - working too many hours, threat of redundancy, huge mortgage and unfortunatley we live in an area where there's a lot of pressure to keep up with the Jones' - or so it seems. We feel that if we wait for a job we could be waiting a while and I am too impatient for that.

We have been granted PR on the basis of my job but I am prepared do some temping work or whatever, as is my husband to get by in the first few months. I am under no illusions that the first while will be a big struggle emotionally and possibly even financially but we've been squirrelling a bit away and will have a bit of a cushion to help us in the first little while.

We figure in the long run it'll be worth it and being there we feel we can go for jobs more easily and can get a better feel for areas we like. Also for us our eldest will be 5 in december and we'd like to be a little settled before she starts school in early Feb.

Sometimes you have to grab the bull by the horns and go for it. If you can cover yourself financially for 3 months or so and are prepared for anything it may be a chance worth taking. I must admit to being terrified though!!! But also very excited http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...erscrossed.gif

I'm sure it will work out for you and your boys will be fine - like you say kids are adaptable and as long as you are there as a constant for them it'll all work out one way or the other...... goodness I sound more confident than I feel!!!

P2L

As the OP has already said, we are halfway through the school year here, so possibly not the best time to be looking for a permanent position.

Our local school has just advertised for a principal. Just to give you some idea of timescale here from advertising to appointment, we lost our old Principal at the end of term 1 (Easter), an acting Principal was appointed for 2 terms.
The position was not advertised until 29 June with a closing date of 10 July, so quite a short time period IMO. That person is required to take up their position in time of the start of Term 4 which is 12 October.

My reason for posting this is to show why, possibly schools will not look at your wife without you having PR or are indeed already in the country; the time between closing date for this position and taking up your post is 13 weeks.

Although not impossible, I think anyone would struggle to comply with that timeline without already having PR, and that is what would put many potential employers off.

I hope this helps, with any decision you make

Good Luck
Sarah

j19fmm

Hi I am a Primary teacher too. I last visited NZ in October last year and all the Principals I met said it was best to go on the Long Term Supply list first, get NZ Teaching experience, get known and then go from there. I know that when we are ready to move I will go first, October time as that is when most jobs are advertised, and get sorted first. Then the rest of the family will follow.
Quite honestly would your OH appoint someone from the other side of the world who they've not met in person, not seen teach and who has no experience of the curriculum?
Yes, it's tough, but fair I reckon. Another place to try is Select Education, a recruitment agency with branches all over NZ. Email them and sound them out, send a CV etc.
Good luck with it all, keep us posted.

ps. doesn't stop me looking at Edgazette for that job saying 'j19fmm we only want you for this perfect job' !!

thedtb

Thanks for everybody's input - much appreciated.

It's frustrating as we couldn't see how we'd get out of the vicious circle we're apparently in.. e.g.... can't get the visa without the job but can't get the job without the visa.

We're coming to the conclusion that we're gonna have to take the gamble and just get out there in the not too distant future... but... what I don't understand is how... sure we could just go on a normal tourist visa (an extended holiday if you will) and attempt to find a job whilst out there and then finalise the VISA details whilst we're out there.... but a few people have now mentioned getting out there and working as a supply teacher and getting known etc first - but so far as I know, this wouldn't be permitted on a tourist VISA...

Can anyone explain?

P2L

Hi

Have you and your OH done the calculator on the NZIS site?

It could be that you have enough points to apply for a residence visa without a job.

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...killedmigrant/

Good Luck

thedtb

P2L, we submitted our EOI back in March because we were (then) sat at exactly 100 points and we were somewhat confident that she'd be able to source a job in NZ before the EOI expired... since then though she's turned 30 and subsequently it's knocked her points down to 95.

The issue is that on the actual EOI "Primary School Teachers" are not on the list... if they were we'd have more than 100 points and would possibly be able to proceed, but without them being on the list we need the job offer to exceed the 100 points.

David

j19fmm

WHAT?? Not on what list ? Since when?

thedtb

This is yet another frustrating point we've come across:


Search the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) and the Immediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL) here for "primary":

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/skilledmigrant/LinkAdministration/ToolboxLinks/essentialskills.htm?level=1

On the LTSSL the result is only:

"Early Childhood (Pre-primary School Teacher) (241111)"

On the ISSL the result is:

"Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher (Montessori Teacher) (241111)"

AND

"Primary School Teacher (241213)"

We thought that the last one would result in us achieving more points, but on the actual EOI form when you select your profession/skill etc "Primary School Teacher" is nowhere to be seen - only "Pre-Primary School Teacher" is - which is different.

j19fmm

Phew see what you mean! I know it's annoying isn't it? But at least it's on A list, you had me worried there! Are you sure of your points? Thought I was on 100 and I'm older than your OH - or might that be to do with experience I wonder?

thedtb

It may be on A list but it doesn't appear to make any difference because we're (so far as we know) unable to claim any points for it regardless - Although I profess that I don't know why because the fact it's on A list presumably means there's a demand for people with such experience so why don't they allocate points accordingly?

We're as sure of her/our points as we can be... maybe it's your experience or maybe your qualifications have been assessed at a higher level than my OH's - who knows?