KJGlen

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on something?

I am a teacher, I currently reside in Thailand, but I am from the UK.

My Age is: 30 = 30 points
IELTS Score: 8.5 = 20 points
Experience <3 years = 0 points
Education: PGCE and Bsc = 15 points

Total points = 65 points

With this is mind, is it worth applying?

Secondly - I have never done a WHV. I know I can get one before I turn 31 (in October). Would it feasible to get supply work on a holiday visa and submit whilst there? I know I would have to register for teaching in the state I want to be in, but I can do that now?

Thanks for any help in advance

verystormy

At the moment you would not get an invite on those points. At least not until July.

Yes you could do a WHV and apply on shore.

What do you teach?

KJGlen

Why July? What happens then? Are my points not enough? I teach high school chemistry, physics and maths

carcajou

To be able to apply for permanent residence under the secondary teacher pathway, you would have to undergo a skills assessment from AITSL, before you can submit an expression of interest. A positive assessment from AITSL is a required part of your expression of interest.

It would be possible to register as a teacher and do relief teaching, but competition for relief work in the capital cities is intense, and at certain parts of the year, work is very, very hard to come by (schools also use that method to scout potential full-time teachers who might be available, which on a WHV, you won't be). I don't think it's viable to plan your WHV around that. Sponsorship for overseas teachers right now won't happen.

On a side note, how long was your final practicum? AITSL requires 45 days, non-negotiable, and will give a negative assessment to candidates who did less than that regardless of how much post-qualification experience they have. Some British-trained teachers have gotten tripped up this way.

carcajou

Can I clarify, when I said "sponsorship won't happen," I am not referring to a 190, I am referring to work visas.

KJGlen

Thanks for your advice. Final practicum, do you mean how many days was my PGCE in terms of teaching? I did 92 days

I’m not really looking to go into Sydney, Melbourne etc. looking more at Cairns and up that way.

Thanks

carcajou

Queensland also has a different system of teacher hiring/allocation than other states/territories. You will have to read up.

Traditionally in Australia, teachers start remote, and then work their way back to the capital cities over a few years.

I don't know what the situation will be like in Cairns; generally, the more remote, the better the chances of finding something, but the nicer regional areas can be harder to find work in for teachers than the big cities. There is an oversupply of teachers at the moment (the "shortage" is not really a "shortage" but rather an "imbalance" - too many in the cities and desirable regional areas, not enough in the Outback or remote). You will be competing for a position in Cairns not just with unemployed teachers looking for work, but also with remote/Outback teachers who want to transfer there, and new graduates who have been trained in Australia.

I would advise you to:

1. Go on and get your AITSL skills assessment, as that takes some months;
2. Do a recce where you go to Cairns or your preferred sites, and speak to principals directly about doing relief and/or the hiring situation. I wouldn't send e-mails; I don't think it likely a British-trained teacher writing from Thailand with no visa is going to get much response.
3. Explore alternative avenues of WHV employment; I would imagine Far North Queensland has quite a tourism season in the winter months.

Ultimately, however, the determinant of if you get something (if you get a visa), will be if you are any good or not. You will cut to the front of the line if you are.

Good luck.

Dmorgan07

Hi, I have a 189 visa application in for an early childhood teacher, and this is my experience so far if it helps....

Carcajou is correct you have to have a positive assessment from AITSL to be able to put in an EOI (189 and 190 visas are an option for secondary school teachers as they are listed on the medium skills list), and it does take a while so do it as soon as possible. You have send certified copies of all your certificates and full transcripts directly to them in the post, as well as pay a fee so the quicker you get all that done the better.
To prove your teaching practice during placements on your PGCE, you can ask your university for a letter stating how many days you did in placement- I provided that and AITSL seemed to be happy with that because I got a positive outcome.

From what I can gather invitations to apply have greatly dropped from the 1000s to the 100s (I think this is due to backlogs and new restrictions etc, but that’s only from what I’ve read from forums and could be wrong), and there has been no invites for anything less than 70 points, so maybe state sponsorship (190 visa) could boost your chances?

With regards to job searching etc, I can’t really help you about WHVs- there will definitely be more experienced people on here that will be able to point you in the right direction on that one 😀- but I contacted randstad which is a agency that deals with international teachers, and I was offered a few 457 sponsored options through them (although I wouldn’t necessarily advice a 457 visa as a I think they’re being abolished and from what I can gather an all round dodgy option- which is why I didn’t go down that route in the end). However they may be able to offer some general advice about where the jobs are etc? I declined the sponsorship role, but they have assured me that if and when my visa is approved they are happy to assist me with finding work- only time will tell if this happens 🤣

carcajou

I suppose it is worth asking, KJGlen how close are you to finishing your third year of experience and getting the extra five points?

For points purposes - the experience has to be actual teaching experience in a secondary school. If you are in Thailand teaching English/ESL at an after-school academy, that won't count.

If you do come on a WHV and do relief, that also builds up and counts. 200 days of relief = one school year. The Departments of Education also count relief days for salary purposes (ie if you do 200 days of relief, they move you up one notch on the salary scale).

So what I'm saying is that if you're close to three years, and you are at something like 2.5 or 2.75 years, it may be possible to top that up with relief work on a WHV and get to three years for the extra five points. I would consult with a migration agent first about that strategy though.

Good luck.

verystormy

Because nobody, regardless of occupation is being invited with 65 points or less. This may change in July because July 1 is the new year for visas, so it is when points and caps change.