Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Hello
I'm new to this forum.
We are in the UK hoping to move to NZ. We currently have our house on the market and I am in the process of getting teacher registration in preparation for searching for a job in a primary school. I have a lot of UK experience and I am open to any areas (although ideally not Auckland because of living costs and less visa points).
I have read a lot re there being a teacher shortage in NZ, on govt websites, in newspaper articles etc.
However I recently spoke with someone on a different forum who seemed to think it would be really difficult to get a teaching job at all, never mind from the UK.
Has anyone got recent experience of this?

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Do you have your visa yet? This is a very long and complicated process, and if you don't have a visa, teacher registration doesn't matter. Teacher registration also doesn't imply that you will pass the NZQA assessment for migration, which is not a formality.

Short answer: It will be very, very difficult for you to get a position in a decent school on no NZ experience and with no local network, next to impossible if trying to find something while overseas, and totally impossible if you don't already have a visa.

Long answer: Do not rely on news reports to give you an accurate idea of hiring conditions, you need information from those on the ground (principals). The best strategy is to be on the ground, doing relief in schools you think you might like to be at. NZ principals need to be able to put a face with a CV, and you are at a substantial disadvantage with no NZ experience, no NZ training and no NZ network. If you do relief and are any good, you will be first in line when something pops open. The ultimate determinant will be if you are any good, and if you are able and willing to wait something out.

I remember getting asked something similar by someone a few months back - that person was very excited because he read about all the "shortages" - and at the time there were 1,100 jobs being advertised on the Education Gazette - sure evidence of a shortage, right? Then when what he could actually apply for was whittled down, there were only something like 15 suitable positions out of all that. The moral is don't get overly excited about "news reports" and bureaucratic statistics, get information from the schools, and the best way to do that is to take a recce visit. They will usually make time for you if you show up but doubt you will get much response overseas while on e-mail.

People sometimes whinge about how expensive recce visits are but it is a lot cheaper than if you formulate the wrong strategy and spend months out of work.

Term 3 is generally when the bulk of the hiring for the next school year gets done. So, if you don't get sorted with your visa/registration in about the next six weeks or so, you will probably miss the peak of the hiring season for this cycle.

So your order is: (1) visa, (2) registration, (3) principal visits on the ground to determine market conditions in the areas you want to be, (4) formulate relief strategy while applying for positions.

Good luck.

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

We may be able to help unravel the process & the assorted possibilities.

First, if I may, does your partner have an occupation please? If so , what is it.
Have you done the skilled migrant points indicator please? Do you need a job offer to gain 160 points and over ?

As you may already know it is a job offer first before applying for a work visa.

Primary school teacher as an occupation is not on the NZ immigration long term shortage list. However it is on a regional shortage list which means that a school is more easily able to offer you, the overseas person, a position from which you would apply for an essential work visa. That is a temporary visa.

The issue here would be what type of contract you would be offered. You would really need a full time and permanent contract to progress to a residency application ( if you need a job offer for enough points ) & I seem to think that often what is offered is year on year renewable contracts.

That the occupation is on the regional shortage list does indicate that there may not be enough primary school teachers to go round at the moment, however that does not indicate that New Zealand doesn't have plans to ensure there are enough home grown primary school teachers coming through to take up the permanent positions. The NZ immigration regional shortage list is one to help employers stopgap.

The more usual way here that a school selects and hires a teacher full time - (and even then quite often budget dictates that the contract is actually renewable year on year) - is that the person does volunteer and relief work . Then when a position becomes available they are offered that work. A lot of the teaching work appears to be on a part-time basis from what I can gather from pals in this occupation. My neighbour who is away presently as it is school hols , has just returned to teaching after a few years gap so I will ask her thoughts when I see her in a few days.

The gazette may well show vacancies. Yes. You need your registration to apply.

To be clear about the registration/job/visa order. You will need the NZ registration to work as a teacher. You will need the job offer and a contract before you can apply for a work visa.

Please come back with thoughts and questions.

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Sorry but I do need to correct this.

It is a job offer first before a work visa. Not the other way round. The visa process is not complicated.

The order is (1) Registration - otherwise cannot work as a teacher & waiting for rego would hold everything up (2) Job offer somehow or another (3) Visa.

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Correct BEVS. I think I misunderstood the OPs circumstances.

I assumed since their house is for sale, they are far down the visa process and don't need an offer for the points in order to be able to come to NZ. I actually thought reading the post maybe the partner might be an NZ Citizen. At which point he or she is much better off just waiting for that process to conclude and then be able to walk into a school and say visa/registration everything is sorted. I personally would not do that with just registration and saying that the visa is forthcoming if it can be helped.

If they need a job offer for the points test, that's something different entirely and you have outlined the process. My advice won't help in that case, including about going into NZ schools beforehand.

We really need more information from OP to be more helpful, including if they are place-bound to a specific location, when they arriving etc, if one is an NZC (at which point OP can tap into the partner's family's network) etc.

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Ah! I had not read the post that way but this may well be correct .
Yes. A clarification from the OP would be helpful here.

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

I came to Taranaki, NZ on the back of my husband's visa so I can't comment on that but as far as job hunting goes, i came to NZ in 2012, straight out of my teacher training year. I was not confident of my chances of finding teaching work at all, being so new to the profession. When my kid's teacher heard I was a teacher, I was offered supply work. After a couple of months, I was offered 3 days per week job share and one year later, a full time permanent contract. In 2012, there was supposedly a surplus of teachers and not enough jobs. Anyway my point is try to make connections, make a good impression and that goes a long way. Of course it won't get you over there in the first place though!
Good luck. X

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Yes, exactly the way to go. Relief work to make a good impression and then eventually something will pop open. Schools would prefer to hire someone they know so if you are any good you will make it despite the surplus.

That is if you have a way in first though.

Re: Primary Teaching opportunities in NZ
 

Slightly different circumstances as I came out on a partner visa so was already a resident and had the right to work here. However, I trained as a French and Spanish high school teacher, finished my training in July 2018. Moved to NZ in September 2018 and got my first teaching job in Jan 19. I'm teaching in an intermediate school (which counts as primary). Full class teacher so maths, writing, P.E, everything. I had no teaching experience in any country and my training was for high school languages!
It was so easy to get a job and they are crying out for teachers tbh. I'm in Taupo btw. However that was my experience and it may be different with different visas. Just letting you know it's not all doom and gloom 🙂