I'm new to BE and really wished I'd found it earlier!
Anyway here goes, is anyone in the process of studying or applying to study in Canada? Would you recommend uni's or colleges in BC that are recognised by Canadian gov for work permits for hubby and me.
I am a teacher and would need an open spousal work permit to support him while he was at uni.
Also can kids go to school free if we are on temp work permits??

We are planning a trip this summer to check out uni's etc and will be on Van island and around van.
Are there many teaching jobs, supply etc?

Thanks

Best to read this first:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Teaching_in_Canada

Thanks for that I kind of thought teacher jobs maybe few and far between!
we have money for degree upfront, so supply would be ok. we are prepared to travel to where the work is and I thought rural places have trouble recruiting, would there be a uni located within a 'rural' area?

That article is a bit out of date. The only teachers that can now qualify under the skilled worker program are university and college teachers. They can get their visa in 6-12 months.

Even if you can get a an open work permit on the strength of your OH's study permit you might still run into problems registering as a teacher without permanent residency (not 100% sure about this). Even if you do, the wiki article is right about the time it takes to get a full-time position.

I think any degree granting university will do. Your children will quality for free education if you have a TWP for more than a year. Many people suggets getting a study permit for them as well (cost $150 each?). They are not strictly necessary but can save a lot of hassle if the administrators in the school district where you end up are not sure of the rules.

Oh I thought that if OH had study permit I would automatically get open spousal WP allowing me to find work within my field. Can you recommend a link to check this stuff out?

You will get an open work permit, but you may need a licence to practice, or to get your qualifications recognised. For example, an electrician would still have to get their Red Seal certificate before they can work in Canada. I've no idea if this applies to teachers or not, you'll need to contact the requisite authorities in the province you wish to head to, but thought I'd etter mention it.

If you have the money to support yourselves, then go for it - but bear in mind it may take you a long time to find any teaching job (even supply teaching) so you'll need to have quite a bit of money behind you just in case, particularly given the recession in Canada.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Thank you that's very helpful.

Hi, I'm also a teacher and have looked into this quite a bit, although admittedly for Alberta not BC, but from what I can tell it's not too different. You will need to apply for teacher certification. In Alberta it takes about 3-4 months to come through. You may or may not need to take additional courses to be eligible for teacher certification depending on your route to QTS. If you did a BA Hons and a PGCE like me you will need to do extra courses, although they can be done in your first year of employment if you can get your employer to write to teacher certification. If you qualified via GTP then I don't think your qualification is recognised at all.

I've been looking for a job for a year and a half though, and have only just managed to secure one. It really is tough to get a teaching job, you may have to be prepared to do supply for a while - I don't know how that fits in with you supporting your husbands study.

Feel free to ask any questions... and good luck!

Hi and thank you
I am a primary teacher, seems like they are all to common these days!! I did a 4 yr BA pri degree, so that goes in my favour. I don't mind supply for primary, and also am doing Celta TEFL so I can also do EFL work too, I want to branch out! I have had trouble finding out about EFL work, mainly cos it seems canadian employers don't need to look further afield for employees. Anyway I am hoping we can investigate this summer when we visit. It does seem quite grim for us teachers at the mo.

You are more likely to find teaching work in rural areas. There is at least one poster on this site who teaches somewhere oop north so hopefully he will see this thread.

The University of Northern BC has locations (I don't know the plural of campus) across the north. http://www.unbc.ca/regops/

Um.

The teacher's union has just made it possible for retired teachers to do supply as well as new ones. My friend, who is currently studying at UBC, says jobs are very thin on the ground as a result of so much competition. In short, you as a foreigner will be competing with many, many canadian graduates who also have work experience in canada as part of their degree AND retired teachers. I know this is true for Burnaby, am not sure if it applies to all other cities in BC, but yeah. sucks.

I'm an elementary school teacher in BC. Here is some advice:

1. Apply to the BC College of Teachers (BCCT) for certification. They'll review your qualifications to see if it's equivalent to that of a teacher trained in BC. Expect the process to take several months although I've heard that they've been quicker lately. They'll let you know of any additional coursework you'll need if required.

2. As others mentioned above, yes, unfortunately the employment outlook for teachers in BC is poor at best. Countless reasons for it. Too many to explain here. The situation improves, however, if you have a specialty area (ex, French, Home Ec, Shop, Music, etc...) or if you're looking for work in a small or rural town.

3. Don't count on supply (TOC) work in a large city to support yourself or a family. Some TOC's are only working 1-2 days per week in the cities. Not even enough to pay the bills. In fact, some TOC lists are even closed to new applicants because there is such a surplus of supply teachers that the union has complained.

4. A small city suggestion - A popular Canadian magazine ranked UNBC in Prince George (northern BC, pop 70,000) the second-best small university in Canada. It ranked first in the "total research" category. I happen to know that the employment situation for teachers in Prince George is better than most other cities in BC. For example, unlike other school districts, there weren't any layoff notices given this year. In comparison, over 200 teachers received layoff notices in Coquitlam (a city in the Lower Mainland) last week. It's something to think about...

Thank you very very much for your advice and help. The rural option sounds good. I will go onto UNBC website and check courses. I have read that in rural schools they like exp, and also have seen courses for teaching in rural locations. Do you know any more about this at all?
Again many thanks

I was banking on retired teachers staying retired!!

Hi and thanks again for your advice, it is much appreciated.
Would you be able to help me with another query;
Are the smaller, less populated areas areas of Vancouver Island considered to be 'rural' in the same way say as Prince George. I realise they would have far smaller population than PG, but as far as teaching work goes would they be 'rural teaching jobs'
Many thanks