Trackerthecat

Hi everyone,

I'm an avid reader of the forums but this is my first post! I've wanted to move to NZ for some time with my family (wife and two young children) and after attending an expo we're starting to look at things a bit more seriously now.

I got some useful information at the expo, mainly that you need a job, or job offer, before you put in a visa application. My wife is a nurse so we're fairly sure once her registration is through we could go through the skilled migrant visa route. However, as I'm a primary school teacher, I'd want to go over and do some relief teaching before looking for something more permanent. We're looking at moving around the Christchurch area and this brought up a problem.

When I mentioned this at the expo, many people said there is currently no demand for relief teachers in and around the Christchurch area and that I'm better moving to Auckland or Wellington for better job prospects (incidentally, the people telling me this were all based in Auckland or Wellington!).

I'd just like to get an idea of what it is like for anyone who has moved to the Christchurch area looking for work as a teacher. Did you find work (relief or permanent)? Are there agencies you can sign up with or do you contact schools directly?

My understanding is that there is a looming teacher crisis in NZ so at the very least I'd be wanted within the next few years.

Thanks in advance,
Tracker

carcajou

Your best bet is to go to Christchurch on a recce and approach principals directly to ask about the relief situation.

However, generally speaking relief is a lot harder to come by in big cities.

"Looming teacher crisis" is a loaded phrase . . . be careful. Doubtful it will actually apply to primary teachers in urban areas, much like "secondary teacher crisis" usually only means in a few learning areas in a few places.

MrsFychan

there really is no shortage of teachers, just teachers willing to work in certain area's and for certain principles.
First primary school my kids went to, before I removed them, 5 teachers resigned at the same time and same thing has happened recently at a private school in ChCh where 17 teachers have resigned over 2 years.

BEVS

I have my doubts about this. The market is saturated with home grown qualified teachers that cannot gain meaningful long-term full-time employment in their field. Hence why teaching was removed from the shortages lists recently. There will be plenty of teachers around to fill gaps in primary schools, not to mention return to work mums who did their teacher training quals degrees in New Zealand & who would be willing to take on part-time year on year contracts.

Yes. Volunteering and relief is the way to go towards maybe gaining an offer of employment. It will be about who you know & being next in line.

It may help to upskill on Te Reo .

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edit

The NZ Education Gazette lists vacancies.
Your other bet is to personally contact schools, make yourself known and ask about the prospects.

Trackerthecat

It might not be what I wanted to hear but I definitely appreciate all your honesty and advice. Thank you.

I'd love to make a visit over but I'm not sure it's something that is going to be possible for a few years yet. Still, I'll keep it in mind when planning future holidays!

The only other option we have considered is going to Auckland given that me and my wife have actually been offered permanent jobs there in the past few days since going to the expo. It wouldn't be any time soon as we haven't even started anything formal yet (and I'm not even sure we could afford to live in Auckland either) but it gives us something else to consider in comparison to Christchurch.

Thanks again,
Tracker

BEVS

IMO and it is only IMO Christchurch is likely the better bet for a family over Auckland.
Christchurch is now up and coming. Auckland incredibly over-priced.

Y'know. Do you have to teach? If you come in on the back of your wife's nursing quals you are able to find work at anything that takes your fancy.
She would likely go where the job offer was which is usually with some District Health Board or other.

Meanwhile you could be honing your teaching quals and skills to ensure a good Kiwi fit by volunteering for after school activities and filling in as and when.

Education Council NZ oversees teacher registration Perhaps just ask them bluntly what you could do to bring what NZ needs .

NZ Nursing Registration .

carcajou

It is easier to get a new teaching job when you already have a teaching job. If you have received a permanent teaching job offer in Auckland - my advice would be to take it, use that as a foothold and for some breathing space, and then start to draft a strategy to move south.

You would be able to afford to live in Auckland on two teaching salaries, absolutely.

Trackerthecat

I was actually thinking along those lines that having a job in Auckland might actually improve my chances of getting a job elsewhere.

Glad to hear someone say we could manage on two teaching wages (it's actually one teacher and one nurse but similar salaries). As mentioned in my earlier post, I've got two young children in school. Does anyone recommend places to live in and around Auckland? The job offered is in a south Auckland suburb.

Thanks for your advice,
Tracker

BEVS

Ah! I missed the bit about the job offers.

Yes! and yes again.

If you have both gained job offers then grab with both hands . Job offers are the golden eggs.

You may wish to start a new topic about Auckland.

A Rush And A Push

Which area of south Auckland? There are nicer and less nice areas of S Auckland. Knowing where you will be would help with advice on where to live. If you don't want to identify the actual suburb, give us the name of a next door suburb (find on Google maps) and it will give us a general idea.

Trackerthecat

The job offered is for a school in Papakura.

I'm going through the forums and searching other sites for nice areas to live but any advice would be helpful, there seems to be plenty of places all around that area but I don't know much about the different areas of Auckland at the moment. I don't mind travelling 30-40 minutes to work if the place is right for my family.

A Rush And A Push

OK, I'm in Auckland but not an expert on south Auckland. From what I know I would say -
I would avoid the suburbs like Clendon Park, Weymouth and Manurewa which are just to the north and west of Papakura.

East and north east of Papakura has some nice bits - Hunua, Clevedon, Brookby are all semi-rural and within about 15 mins drive to Papakura. Could be pricey though.

East of the motorway, suburbs like Ardmore, Totara Park, Totara Heights, Flat Bush are all fine as far as I know, some of them have lots of new housing-estate type housing so a bit samey but perfectly ok areas I think.

South of Papakura are more semi-rural places like Karaka, Drury, Pukekohe, all fine but traffic north is heavy in the mornings so you would be joining that (though Papakura is on the train line so that could be an option).

Papakura itself may be fine, I really don't know it. I have a feeling it has nicer bits and not so nice bits. Not that familiar with it though.

You could even go further north to suburbs like Royal Oak, Onehunga, Pakuranga, Half Moon Bay, Bucklands Beach, Howick etc, all good but your commute is getting longer.

The general rule of thumb for south Auckland is east of the motorway is better than west if it - to the best of my knowledge - there may be exceptions!

Bo-Jangles

Papakura itself is quite nice as is most of the area on the East side of the motorway around by the Botanical Gardens - Totara Park and The Gardens) . On the west side Wattle Downs and Conifer Grove are all newish suburbs and looks quite nice

I think those areas would be fine for primary age kids but I would be concerned for teens, as bigger schools might be a bit more rough as some of the surrounding areas are less desirable.

Trackerthecat

Thanks everyone for your help. I've taken a few days to look at the places mentioned and I'm feeling a bit more hopeful about finding the right place now.

Pukekohe looks favourite at the moment, far enough away from the city but close enough should we want/need to travel into Auckland. Also looked at Drury, Patumahoe and Papakura itself. I have to admit that the house prices and rents have come as a shock. Think we're going to have to expect to pay the top end of our budget ($550-600 pw) although after looking on a couple of property websites there are plenty available. Buying looks like it could be out of the question should we want to stay in Auckland! I was hoping to find somewhere for about $500k but something around $700k looks more realistic. However, after a couple of years we might be looking at Christchurch again so buying a property isn't a major issue at the moment.

MOSO

There is a shortage of teachers in Auckland due to the cost of living, but not really elsewhere. I suggest you join the closed NZ Teachers (Primary) Facebook page and ask on there about specific areas and it'll give you an insight into teaching in NZ. There's also a page called jobs in education (nz), which you may find useful.