Hi, I am hoping to move over to Langford, BC within the next year with my husband and 3 children and am looking for some advice. I am hoping to first of all come out in the next few months to look at property and schools and need to start sorting out my CV to send to some agencies, can anyone recommend a good employment agency either in Victoria or Langford? I am a teaching/educational assistant so have been advised to send all relevant CV's to the school district but I also have a background in tourism/travel so was wondering where to start sending those CV's?

Also if anyone has any information or advice about moving to the area it would be gratefully received. I am married with 3 school age children and I grew up outside Toronto but haven't lived in Canada for close to 20 years. We fly back every year to the West Coast to visit family and have fallen in love with the island and are very keen to make it our home. I have a good idea of where to look for property and have been in touch with the relevant local schools but now need to get on with looking for work as we are hesitant to move without one of having a job although I am aware it is unlikely to get one before we move out and are settled, at least in my case.

Also if anyone else has moved out recently to BC from the UK with school age kids I was wondering if they got assessed before moving to the Canadian school or do they just go into the relevant grade depending on when they were born.

Your thoughts and advice would be most welcome, thanks.

My wife is a UK qualified teacher and you need to get all of your qualifications assessed as the profession is regulated in BC. It is not easy as she had to go to every institute that she went to from Secondary School onwards and get them to submit details directly to the regulatory board (a near impossible task). I would assume that a similar issue applies to Teaching Assistants so it might be worth checking what is required. I would suggest you do it soonest so that you avoid voids in your employment if at all possible.

I have a friend who lives in Langford and it is a great place to live with children. Unfortunately due to limited opportunities he has to travel to the mainland to work.

Although our son was in Year 1 in the UK when we departed, as they start later in BC, he started Kinder Garden the September after we arrived. To our knowledge there was no assessment.

I hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for the info. I have a feeling that it may be a bit different for teaching assistants or at least it was 2 years ago when I last checked but i'll check again, thanks.

Not sure if it's exactly the same from district to district but here in Nanaimo you need to get onto the sub list first (if they are hiring) then, take anything & everything that comes your way to build up your seniority.

I wouldn't have thought you'd have to worry about the whole certification thing as a teaching assistant. I think that just applies to teachers. As you say, going straight to the school districts is probably your best bet. I'd suggest trying the private schools too, although I do have a teacher friend in one Victoria private school who said they recently hired fully qualified teachers as teaching assistants, as they can't find teaching jobs. If you were to move out here and volunteer for a while in your children's school and create a good impression, that might be a route in when a position comes up.

As for travel and tourism jobs, I've seen a few jobs advertised recently (on the main job sites) at various travel agencies in the city. I think you'd have to be living here already though to get an interview for this type of job. Maybe think about tour operators too - there could be jobs booking whale watching tours or trips out to Butchart Gardens etc. I think BC Ferries were advertising for staff recently too.

You're probably aware of this if you know the area quite well, but if you work in Victoria, the commute from Langford can be slow apparently! Just something to consider! But you'll get some great prices on family homes out there. My friend lives there with her kids and loves it - great amenities, close to the outdoors etc. And if you land yourself a job at a local school, you'll be sorted!

My children aren't in school yet, so I can't help you out on that question.

Good luck! Any questions on living in the Victoria area, please ask.

Hi thanks for all the info! The same sort of thing seems to be happening here in the UK as far as teachers being hired for the teaching assistant jobs! I am only a supply teaching assistant as my youngest has just started school in September I didn't want anything permanent til she went full time. I have been supplying mainly mornings for the past 2 years and went for an job interview last year that went to a teacher in end!

Yes we love the Langford area and it seems to tick all the boxes as far as location and being close to the outdoors with amenities etc. I have heard the commute is terrible however my husband does an hour and a half some days to Manchester so he is used to commuting and I guess I'll have to get used to it! I have done a variety of jobs in the last 25 years (between having 3 kids) so hopefully I will be able to find something. Hopefully when I come out on my reccie in a month or two I'll be able to meet with several agencies and get a better idea. I have done loads of office work as well so that maybe another option.

As mentioned previously if anyone knows of any good recruitment agencies then any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

On the kids assessment question, one of our kids they have decided easily which grade to put him in, but the other needs assessed. I think it depends what age they are and what year they are currently in. Scottish education system is not the same as English either though. Best to visit a school on your recce trip and ask

We're moving to the Sooke area next month. We used a company in Victoria (registered immigration agent) to assist with our FSW 1 application process (started in 2010). Over the 3 years we've been in contact with them they have been good. Although we have no use for it, I do know that they also run a recruitment agency. They are based in Victoria. I can supply contact information if you PM me.

I'm no expert so please trust your own judgement, but there are two kids in my eldest's school class alone who are driven over the Malahat every day to our area (Mill Bay) because they consider the local schools in Langford to be so bad. The Secondary school - Belmont I think - is due for demolition and relocation it's so run down. Apparently a comparatively high drime rate too.

Nice views of the mountains from Costco though!

Hi, thanks for the info. I have heard that before about the schools in Langford and that is going to be a large part of what the recce is about. My eldest would be due to start grade 6 in September 2013 so is about 4 years away from high school but still something to think about! I know that they are due to build 2 new high schools in Langford/Colwood but it depends on when they are completed.

How long have you lived in Mill Bay? We love it there as well and looked around property in the summer time. Any advice? What is it like living there with kids? My husband is quite keen on the area whereas I did prefer Langford as it felt more central but it is good to get other opinions. It would be great to hear your views.

Thanks!

I've sent you a PM (I presume it stands for "private message") with some contact details.

Now that I think about it, the friend I mentioned in an earlier post who loves living in Langford does homeschool her kids! She pulled them out of school at the end of last year, as she wasn't happy with the local school.

Another family who we are good friends with and live down that way (although not in downtown Langford) send their two kids to the Montessori private school as they are of the opinion the local schools are of a very poor standard. It costs them a fortune each month in school fees!

Yikes, by schools do you mean the local elementary schools? I know that the local high school is falling down and the new one estimated to be ready by 2015 which is in time for my eldest as he is not due to start until 2017. I did speak to someone yesterday at the school district to ask her how I could find out how each school was graded and if they were reaching targets etc. Over her in the UK each school is OFSTED inspected every few years which gives you a good idea of how the school is progressing and if it is meeting government targets and expectations etc. Anyway she said that they didn't have that in Canada and that in her opinion all the local elementary schools in the area were of a good standard!!!

Any info or contacts would be gratefully received!

Many thanks!

Langford isn't one of the more affluent areas and I think that is reflected in the schools and some of the kids that attend them. I suppose it's the same in almost any city in the World.

Langford does have cute tram-like buses though and beautiful hanging baskets in the summer. It also has the nicest Rona I know of, so not all bad!