Hi there,

My husband and I are in the very early stages of considering a move to Canada and are looking for some help and advice. I'm an American living in Scotland for the past 4 years with my Scottish husband, so not new to all the trials and tribulations of immigration!

Wanting a move closer to "home" but not wanting to go back to the States as it's gone off the rails in the past 5 to 10 years to say the least Having grown up right across the border from Canada, I've been many times and have many family friends, etc. whom are Canadian as well.

A number of reasons making us want to leave the UK, not very different from those expressed by others on the forum so I won't preach to the choir.

Looking forward to getting to know all of you and learning about your experiences!

Kristin

Hi Kristin,

Welcome to BE

Hi Kristen, welcome to BE, I'm quite a newbie also and I love this forum, everyone is so helpful.

Do you have idea where you want to settle??

Laura xx

Hello Nikki! Hello Laura!

Laura- I'd love to settle near Toronto, but it looks like British Columbia is my best chance as they have Kindergarten and Elementary teacher as an occupation in demand there (and that's my occupation).

Although I did find some interesting websites for Ontario dedicated to teachers from abroad....so need to do some serious research!

We are going to Vancouver as that is where my hubby has been offered a job, but we would ideally like to be in Alberta.

I haven't done as much research since I was in school lol.

Laura x

Welcome to BE! I'm an elementary school teacher (grade 4) in BC. If you have any questions on teacher certification, working conditions and employment prospects here, please ask. Best of luck!

Oh thanks very much, I'm sure I'll have loads of questions!!!! How easily did you find a job over there? I'm certified through the US to teach (did my degree there) and looks as if it should transfer very easily. Did you try to get your certification there before moving over or did you have to wait until you were there? Also did you manage to get a job offer before moving or did it have to wait? I'm really keen to get back into teaching in a system I'm more familiar with!

You must let me know how you get on! Vancouver looks lovely Have you submitted all your applications, etc.

we are going via the twp route, sent paperwork off to employer, just waiting for them to get back to us.

Laura x

I did all of my university coursework, including a post-degree teacher education program, over here. To transfer your teaching certification to a BC one, you'll have to apply to the BC College of Teachers (BCCT) for evaluation. They just want to make sure that your teacher education background is equivalent to that of a BC-trained teacher. They'll let you know which courses, if any, you'll need to take before getting your teaching certificate.

I won't lie to you - it isn't easy to get a continuing, full-time teaching position in BC, especially an elementary school one. With the exception of a few specialty areas such as French, other second-languages, Music, and Special Education, it is very hard for a prospective teacher to walk into a permanent position. This is due to many factors including a shrinking student population, school closures, fiscal belt tightening, older teachers delaying retirement, and increased enrollment at teacher education programs. Education is BC is heavily unionized - seniority is often weighed more heavily than experience or ability when filling positions. New teachers must often start as Teachers on Call (TOC's) doing casual supply work until they can gain enough years of seniority to successfully bid for positions.

Bad news aside, there is some good news. There are plenty of teaching jobs available in BC - only outside of the main urban centres. There was recently a letter from a rural school district in the latest BCTF newspaper. It said that whereas there is a teacher surplus in the large cities of BC, there is a shortage in other areas of the province, most notably north and rural areas. My wife and I moved from Victoria to a smaller city (around 80,000 pop) a short time ago and we love it. In my short time here I've seen many new teachers walk into teaching positions. However, when I was in Victoria, I met many TOC's who were still trying to get positions even after 5 years of subbing.

Hi Kristin

Just a note to say welcome to the forum & all the best with your research!


Oggy

Thanks for that, it's very helpful information!!! I have a degree in German as well, but never took the exam to be fully certified in it - long story short they just brought in this new exam for your certification as I was graduating and cancelled all the exams in our area....anyhoo I might see if I can get some kind of certification by taking the exam now or in BC. Would that maybe improve my chance of teaching? Also dh and I have started taking French classes as we both have an interest in it, so hopefully in a few years we'll be fairly fluent. Might see if there's an additional course available to become certified in it as well. I'm not teaching over in the UK at the moment but my US certification is up to date. I'm working as a community worker in schools with parents and families atm.

We're open to other cities/communities outside of Victoria and Vancouver, so going on your advice I might have a look at them. We're also very keen on Ontario, but don't think we'd get approval to stay there as there seems not be a shortage of teachers there....but must research more! There's loads to try to get your head around isn't there?

Thanks very much!

Just thought I would pop in and say a big hello and welcome to BE

Hello Cassie! Thanks for the warm welcome!