Tom & Angela

Hi - first time posting so bear with me.

Our family want to move to Aus - but to be honest after spending many a day cruising through the posts - I feel very nervous. I seem to be in what is the most unemployable profession out TEACHING............every post seems to be fairly negative. Is there anyone out there that has had a truely positive experience of gaining employment? Also any idea if there is a particular area where there actually is a shortage, such as in special needs (originally we were told by migration agents a job would be no problem - I wish!)

Finally, does anyone have any idea of the price of university places. Is it the same as here, about £3000 tution per annum, or are we talking mega bucks as in America.

Thanks for taking the time to read this ........

Angie

johnnie7au

Angie

1) Are you a fully qualified and working teacher in uk already? In WA you need to be 4 year qualified.

2) Which state do you think you will settle and teach in?

oliverandlisa

Hubby and i are teachers He is secondary and i am primary.

We LOVE teaching over here.

We are in regional Victoria.

Lisa.x

Tom & Angela

Thanks for the response...

I have Biol/Chem degree and PGCE - so yes 4 years trained. I have VIT certification - but would want to transfer to Queensland one since family want to go to Sunshine coast area if possible.
I am 39 and taught high school, but most recently Science in Prep schools for last 6 years - so may be a problem there.

Was wondering if shortage area in special needs - incase I need to be trained in that before I arrive or are courses affordable there?


Glad some British teachers have made it!


Hope this reply makes it............I was unsure which box to fill in!!!!

Angie

oliverandlisa

hmm, not my area of specialty but i know an Aussie friend of mine who taught special ed over here he is now in England, LOL (the irony) I know that he has a Special Ed qualification for teaching in Aus that he got from the University. Not sure if it helps much - good luck.

Lisa.x

johnnie7au

Dunno much about Queensland ... but .... if it helps ...

In WA (The nicest climate in Aus IMHO) we seem to have a shortage of good regular year 8 - 10 general science teachers, but year 11 and 12 Chem or Physics teachers are like Hens teeth!

Relief or supply teaching is a good way to get a foot in the door regards many schools.

Registration and all the admin stuff in WA seems to take ages though!

If you fancy WA , gimme a yell! I may be able tp give you a few pointers.

(BTW - My students are excellent!)

db1

I have a 4 year teaching degree from the states, do you think I would have to take more classes to get certified?

Tom & Angela

Oh, we did consider Perth - but seems so expensive to buy there now.
Which subjects do you teach and when you began teaching did they take into account your previous years experience?

Also is it difficult to get kids in a good high school? One of my children is currently at a grammar school (non fee paying) and about to start GCSE's - so feeling under pressure to get a job in Aus and make sure it works so as not to be a disaster for her............life can be difficult choices especially when not just for yourself


Also, been to Ballarat Lisa when we went to Auss for a reckie and then initial landing..............some very bad photos of me in a good time gal costume in a bar ha ha ...... It was a lovely place - I am pleased you are happy and settled.

Angie x

oliverandlisa

Thanks Angie, Yeah we love it here, we are actually outside Ballarat in a rural area but Ballarat is our nearest town. My main regret...that we didnt come over years ago. Good luck with your move. Lis.xx

S J Jackson

Hi Guys

Well I can only tell of mine and my brother experiences with regards to getting teaching work on the Sunshine Coast.
Me - Secondary trained physical education and junior maths - found it easy to get relief work and some longer contracts - a couple of terms was the longest I did. I did get known in some schools and got offers of fairly reg work but VERY difficult to get permenent as I have not done any "country service" and was not prepared to do so. I chose to leave teaching and go in a different direction - was not really keen to stay in the profession so did not really bother me. You can make good money doing relief work $50 ish per hour and got paid for a 5 or 6 hour day. Fortnight wage for contract was around $1600 - holiday pay a big problem - you could work the whole school year here on contract and they will end the contract 2 weeks before the 6 week summer holiday so they do not have to pay you holiday pay - that sucks!! There is permenent work in the private schools - difficult to get into and generally you need a churchy!! background so start going to church so you can get a member of the clergy to write you a reference!!! - I'm serious especially if you want to go into Catholic schools!!

MY brother- -physical education background with geography as second subject - however he has moved in a different direction doing his special needs course and working in special education in the UK before moving out. He got a 1 year contract in a special school pretty much straight away after arriving on the Coast - this year got extended and then he was made permanent - he has now been acting head of dept for nearly a year. So in his case - the country service was waived as he had proven himself to be a good teacher and difficult to replace!! He enjoys teaching here where as I did not - however there is a difference between contract and a more permanent position.
Not sure what else I can help you with - although there is a process you have to go through in Queensland Ed which gives you a rating as a teacher - everyone completing a University teaching course is given this rating - rating 1 being the best - a good rating can give you an edge. As a relief teacher I did not have to get that rating but I am pretty sure you have to get a rating before you can be considered for a permanent role - maybe another reader of the forum has been through the process - I think that you can be rated in a school when on a contract or go to a panel with evidence of your teaching abilities and argue how good you are!!!

I am sure that Queensland is a more difficult area to get permanent work in teaching but I really think if you got a contract in a school and were in the right place at the right time that a school principle could argue to keep you on. Contact Queensland Education for all the paperwork - you also have to register with Queensland College of Teachers?? around $70 a year I think. There are also a couple of teaching agencies on the coast - I registered with EPC and got plenty of work - I think the site is www.reliefteachers.com it cost $40ish for a year to be registered with them.

Good luck with your move - all the best

Sarah

saoghalbeag

All of what Sarah said. Qld state school jobs are not advertised as per TES, rather teachers are all put on the list, given a rating (I have a feeling this may be waived if you have sufficient years of experience but I am not sure) and then the Dept of Education farms the teachers out to schools.

There are contract positions advertised on the dept website (ie: urgent posts) and if you are doing day-to-day supply in an area and schools get to know you then longer term contracts (and possibly permanent) jobs will come up.

I don't know if they operate on the Sunny Coast but TRACER coordinate state school supply around Brisbane and Met West. They are fairly good - I was always turning down work as I only wanted a day or two a week.

You need to be registered with the Queensland College of Teachers initially. Then you need to register with the Department of Education. You also need to get in touch with the Catholic Education Office in your area.

Keep an eye out on the web (try http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/aussi...her_employment website for links to all the employers and info in all of Oz) for jobs in Catholic and independent sectors. I am now in Catholic sector and having previously taught in the 'churchy' independent sector find the catholics are a lot easier to get into as a non-church person than the Christian schools. Christian schools expect you to uphold the values in your personal life and be a regular and active member of your church. There are a LOT of these schools on the SUnshine Coast. I attended a church uni in Brisbane and all my mates got placements and jobs in that area.

Have a look in the Working Abroad by Profession forum (down below the Australian one) for more information as I've rambled on a bit about all of this before.

Do those 2 registrations first anyway. Have a look at the Career One website for current job ads for CathEd and Independents. Try teachersonnet.com or something like that for more jobs. Smart Teachers is an agency that recruit for Independent schools around SE Queensland and now WA and NT. They might be able to give you more advice. Personally I think there is more demand for teachers in regional areas and places like the Northern Territory and Western Australia but it really does depend on your subject and experience. Also: I don't have the time to sit around doing day-to-day supply and then building up to longer or permanent contracts. Two of my friends did this in an area west of Brisbane and that was fine for them as they had families and houses in the area and were happy to wait. It took them about 4 or 5 years of being known in schools for it to happen though.

I'm trying to get back to the UK so I just need longer term work and I need it now. I had to move interstate to get it. I taught day-to-day supply last year and prior to that had maternity leave and prior to that just under a year's experience in Australia and the UK, so that's my background. I found I wasn't getting any interviews at all. One interview I did attend for a crummy part-time post in a Catholic school near Brisbane had more than 6 applicants, which I found a little frightning - firstly, why the hell were the school wasting so much of their time, surely the applications narrowed it down a little more? And secondly, were there THAT many teachers in SE Qld that they were all anxiously after this blah job in a blah area???

Anyway, if you can't do regional but can invest the time in supply I think there are opportunities. Smart Teachers just put out a job bulletin and there were PE jobs. They also operate in the UK so might have some other relevant advice for you. Good luck!

Tom & Angela

Well thanks everyone for the interest and help.
Glad to know people care to reply positively with genuine advice and help.

Regards

Angie