JCoop

Hi All,

Again, just want to start by thanking everyone - I've posted several times now and everyone's been really helpful and informative, I appreciate it.

Wife and I moving to Abu Dhabi end of this month, I got my role first and then she applied for a few and got a teaching role within 5 days which was fantastic.

She's now sending her documentation to ADEC via the recruitment agency. For a bit of background, we're coming from Scotland, and so once she completed her Post Grad teaching qualification, in Scotland ye then complete a probationary teaching year. My wife finished her Post Grad in October 2015, and has proof she qualified on this date. However, after qualification we moved over to Australia immediately, where she worked as a primary teacher in a nursery school until the following summer. We then returned to the UK, she registered with the teaching council (GTSC) in June 2016 ready to begin her probationary year which she has now completed.

The issue is, ADEC have asked her to send a copy of her GTSC registration after her qualification in October 2015 to prove she has two years experience. As explained, my wife didn't register in October 2015 as we moved to Australia, and we didn't register over there as there was no need.

Firstly, the GTSC no longer issue certificates for pre-probationers who register, only after probation is complete, so even if she did register in October 2015 we couldn't prove it. They say they won't accept letters, it must be a certificate.

Secondly, proof of registration does not equal proof of experience. My wife's brother registered in June 2015 and then travelled for a year, so registration is irrelevant.

They're now looking to rescind her offer because she doesn't have the two years, which she does; one in Aus one in Scotland.

My question is to anyone working in schools or with ADEC, who could shed some light and offer any assistance with our issue? Is there any other accepted method to prove her experience? Reference from schools for example ? Also, does anyone know if the two year experience thing is for visa/entry requirements or required by the school ? Do non-ADEC schools require two years ?

Sorry for the lengthy post.

Thanks all!

scrubbedexpat141

Wow.

My mrs is a teacher but we're in Dubai and she moved after completing her NQT year (which sounds like the same thing). Don't think I've seen or heard of her having a certificate for it over an above her PGCE and Degree certs.

Maybe an Abu Dhabi thing - is it from ADEC themselves? Or the school? Or the agency?

Can she get letter of experience from school in Aus and school in Scotland, get both attested and use them? Often if attested it can help.

JCoop

Thanks for the response mate, I know it's an odd one so really appreciate it.

Yeah I think the NQT year is the same thing from what I've read. All I can gather from one article I read, is that as of September 2016, ADEC made it manditory that non-Emarati teachers to have 2 years experience! We just don't know if that's the case for all school, international or just ADEC, or if it's a visa requirement or a school requirement.

We're dealing with a recruiter and our last correspondence was late last night, where we asked him to ask his ADEC representative if she can offer referenced letters as proof. I don't know if we'll be able to get these attested though, because surely a letter from a head teacher wouldn't be classed as a legal document and so couldn't go through the legalisation process? Maybe it could we don't know!

As you say, we just find it odd that her qualification date and degree isn't enough. They accept registration date, but not qualification date, even though both are equally irrelevant with regards to verifying length of experience lol!

Our plan B is actually for her to look into jobs in Dubai and we'd just live separately during the week. Even for a year or so until she can transfer to AD. My job is pretty niche so I won't have the option of transferring to Dubai. My missus found a role in Dubai last night that accepts NQTs and applied.

Any other info you might come across, or your good lady hears, if you could pass it on that would be great mate thanks !

scot47

A letter from any official source can be legalised. That would include a local authority school. The bureaucratic hoops are a pain but it can be done.

JCoop

Thanks - this may be helpful if they'll accept references from Australia and UK. I have no issue sending documents back and forth, it's just frustrating when what they're asking for doesn't prove what they need.

Thanks for the input

sicklyman

yeah, but you know better than me scot47 that if they want X and we provide Y which is "obviously equivalent to X" in the real world it is likely to be rejected because "we asked for X and you have not given us X. Therefore we are going to close the shutters and head off for a four hour lunch break."

JCoop, your best hope is if you are dealing with someone who understands the equivalency i.e. not local or from a culture that is equivalent to local in terms of red tape (e.g. India).

You say it's frustrating... well, this is just a foretaste of the banquet of bureaucracy that awaits you.

JCoop

Haha thanks mate - I've been well warned off the bureaucracy that awaits me !!!

You make a good point though about speaking with someone familiar with the process; my partner was interviewed by a Scottish teacher would understand the issues we're facing, we'll see if we can get in touch with her

If not it's back to the drawing board, hopefully she can find another role, possibly in Dubai and then look at relocating later!

carcajou

Two years' experience is not a visa requirement, it is an organisational one. As well - regardless of what any recruiter or organisation tells you, you do not have a firm offer in the Middle East until they send you a plane ticket. Do not make any irreversible moves in the UK until that happens.

Based on my reading of your situation - I only see one year of experience for your wife. Can you please confirm my understanding from your post that she never registered as a teacher in Australia? NO government or private school in Australia would be able to employ a teacher using UK teaching registration rather than registration from an Australian state or territory. So if the role in Australia was one that did not require local registration - it was not "real teaching" (as education departments would see it) and so will not count towards the teaching experience requirement.

Unfortunately for your timing, a lot of organisations in the Middle East have cracked down hard on this in recent years, after several years of not really caring - when you have a mix of nationalities a lot of the terminology can get mixed up, and a lot of places got burned because people were showing up at interviews and pointing at "five years' teaching experience" from hogwans and ESL institutes in Asia and the American/Canadian/British/South African etc recruiters and interviewers didn't know what those were and didn't understand those weren't real schools. Then these applicants who got hired on the strength of those positions, couldn't perform or fit in to real schools because they lacked the proper training and experience. So things have tightened and a lot of places, have gotten much better at the screening process.

My advice would be to get whatever documents you can find pointing to her qualifying in the UK in October 2015, explain that certificates don't get issued when that happens, and hope that the recruiter or representative isn't switched on enough to know that SOME notification gets issued even if it's not a certificate, or doesn't put 2 + 2 together and ask how she could teach in Australia on a UK qualification and therefore "corrects" the record to show 2 years.

Australia doesn't issue certificates either by the way . . . neither does New Zealand if I recall.

Your other note - having a probationary year for new teahers post-registration is standard practise the world over and would not impact the experience requirement. If it was a position that required registration, it counts, probationary or not.

Good luck - but it seems to me that if they want to rigidly enforce the requirement (and Middle Eastern organisations sometimes don't - so there is hope), your wife won't make it.

EDIT: If you have a formal job description from the Australian position, and it reads similar to what a registered UK teaching would look like (or any registered teaching position at that age level), that may help.

JCoop

Thanks for the response.

My partner qualified in October 2015, and so this October sh have 2 years experience. She taught primary education in a nursary in Australia from October 2015 until Summer 2016, then a year in Scotland from August 2016 until June 2017. ADEC have informed her they're not going to be sticklers and the fact she'd be starting in Abu Dhabi in September 2017 and so one month short of her 2 years in October doesn't matter.

We don't have a job description from Australia unfortunately. We're planning on doing what you've said; going with the qualification document showing Oct 2015, and try and explain that they no longer issue certificates.

Failing this she's going to look into other job opportunities. My salary pays enough to cover us both living well with a good amount left over to save, she doesn't have to teach for the salary but enjoys teaching children so that's why she's keen. Alternatively, she may look at tutoring or something similar. She definitely wants to do something because we reckon she'll be bored out her mind not working !

Thanks for the help and advice, really appreciate everyone's time and getting back to me !

carcajou

If your partner did not need Australian state or territory teaching registration to work that role in Australia - that role does not count as "teaching experience" and your partner thus has one year of experience, not two.

However, as i said earlier, that is not necessarily a show-stopper, "two years experience" is an organisational requirement that can be waived off if they want.

"Teaching experience" does not mean "how many years since qualification?" or "how many years since registration?" It means "how many years have you done a job that required teacher registration to do?"

Registration and qualification are also different though related things. One allows you to work while the other doesn't.

If the problem is that the person you are communicating with isn't Scottish and doesn't understand that Scotland doesn't issue certificates anymore - that will be solved quickly as ADEC employs thousands of Western teachers and hundreds (at least) are from the UK. If the problem is they want to hold the line on the two years of teaching experience requirement - then you may have a real problem.

I understand someone may have told you one thing but your file doesn't only get looked at by one person.

JCoop

It seems that ADEC are sticking to their rule that date of registration = experience. I agree with you that this isn't a reflection of experience, and we've tried explaining this to ADEC via the recruitment agency and by contacting ADEC separately. The recruitment agent also asked ADEC if we provided proof of registration in Australia for the first year and then second year in Scotland would this be accepted and was simply told no (before he knew we didn't actually have registration in Australia).

We've explained several times that Scotland no longer issues certificates and just been told they will still only accept certificates.

Also, from what I've read in a few different news reports (however I can't vouch for the reliability of these outlets), this 2 year experience rule is compulsory now as of September last year and not really at the discretion of ADEC to let slide if they see fit. However you may be right on this, which is reassuring. If that were the case that ADEC can choose not to enforce two years experience, my wife would probably still come out with me and try applying once she's in the country.

Alternatively, she may look into teaching in a nursery school if possible (even as support staff - she prefers this age group anyway), or look at roles in Dubai as we've already seen a couple that accept newly qualified teachers.

Thanks for the help !

TheShed

FWIW Mrs Shed runs Nurseries in Dubai but under the KHDA which is a UAE wide authority based out of AD. The general qualification for Nursery teachers is Cache Level 3 but its not uncommon to employ good ex pat teachers as assistants (on teacher salary) whilst they finalize their qualifications.

Nursery may well be a decent place for your partner to break into things here as a stop gap.

Hope it helps.

Arcadia

Hi There.

Failing all else. Get your wife to contact Al Najah pvt school.

As the time comes for the students to return after the summer break they will usually find themselves without the full quota of teachers.

This is the perfect time for your wife to walk in and "name her price"
BTW..all papers needed will be sorted by the school which just happens to be owned by the wife of one of the ruling family.

JCoop

Thanks for the response, this really helps! My wife actually loved her time in nursery schools during her placements and volunteered before starting her teacher training.

We'll definitely look into Nurseries as an option, she'd be more than happy to work in one. By any chance does Mrs Shed have any contacts in the Abu Dhabi nursery scene ?

Thanks again mate I really appreciate it. It's a bit of a hurdle for us at the moment, we've had to delay my wife's arrival to UAE until we find something work wise, as she doesn't want to leave UK teaching role and therefore stop gaining experience until she has something out in UAE.

!

JCoop

This is great, thanks for the tip we really appreciate it !

She'll contact the school ASAP and see what they say. We just don't want to give up her teaching role here in the U.K., and effectively cap her experience, until she definitely has something out there !

Thanks again.