Sniffer Bailey

I have recently qualified for a teachers certificate with the BCCT and currently waiting for permanent visa through the skilled worker route. It seems that I can only apply for positions once I have the visa and that's it! There does not seem to be anyway around it at all.

I was hoping if there was anyone who had similar experiences or have any knowledge about this situation. Is it worth looking into teaching a different age group, is that possible? Are there any advisory roles I could apply for?

I have phoned districts but have struggled to gain any information.

Any advice at all would be much appreciated.

Yoong

Hi,
Have a look at the BE links ,hopefully you can find someone
there who can answer your questions .
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...teaching+in+bc

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...82#post4910582
There are ESL teaching positions here but salary is not great.
http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/JobResult_e...ent&Student=No
Yoong

Sniffer Bailey

Thanks for the links, they were very useful.

Sniffer Bailey

When I speak to the district authorities I try to explain I have lots of skills in management etc but they dont seem to want to know. It sounds as if teaching is very generalised but they must have leaders in subjects or advisors. In elememtary teaching, are there areas of responsibility etc?

Again, any info would be greatly appreciated.

Juliew

Hi there,

To get a job teaching in BC you will need to start on the supply list. Most districts are only allowed to hire teachers that are currently on their supply list. Hiring is generally achieved through hiring pools with the district.
You will need a visa to work in Canada before they will even consider you. The only option around this is possibly to work in Northern Canada. As for responsibility points this is not that popular in BC. As a primary teacher you could apply to become part of the senior management team; however this will almost always require a Masters degree and some senority.

Good luck

chan_konabe

I'm an elementary school teacher in Victoria, BC, and I can answer any questions you might have. As far as looking for work goes, it is very unlikely that any employer will consider you for a position without a work visa in hand.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find work as an elementary school teacher in BC at this point in time. It's true all over BC, but particularly in the urban centres. In fact, in the Greater Vancouver and Victoria areas, there is an over-saturation of elementary school generalists and often aspiring teachers have to spend several years doing day-by-day Teacher on Call (TOC) work. Even the TOC lists kept by the school districts are sometimes closed to new applicants and only open for a few weeks a couple of times per year.

It is very unlikely that you will avoid TOC work and jump into the classroom unless you are able to teach the following areas: French Immersion (you could walk into any classroom in any school district across the province with this), French, Special Education (a master's degree in it), Industrial Education (woodworking, metalwork, auto mechanics, etc...), and senior math.

If you decide to live outside of the Greater Vancouver and Victoria areas, you'll move out of TOC work much faster. If you decide to stay in Vancouver or Victoria, often aspiring teachers have to apply to more than one school district TOC list in order to ensure that they're finding enough work to pay the bills. In Victoria, I've met TOC's who are still on the list after more than five years - it isn't unheard of.

As far as becoming part of the administration, there is a noticeable job shortage at the elementary level. In order to be considered for a principal's position, you'll need at least a master's degree. A vice-principal's position requires a master's degree or current enrollment in a master's program. District specialists positions (such as in literacy or numeracy) also require master's degrees.

Only a tiny number of school districts are experiencing increases in student enrollment at this moment. The vast majority are decreasing and closing schools as a result. BC Ministry of Education projections predict that this trend will continue until 2010 when the school-age population will stabilize and then slowly start to rise by 2015.

I know that this may sound bleak, but, unfortunately it's the current situation for new teachers in BC at this moment in time. Right now, the market is very tight so if you have any specialty areas (like the ones I mentioned above), use them to your advantage. Good luck!

chan_konabe

Here is a web site, Apply to Teach, in which some school districts advertise positions. Don't let the amount of jobs fool you. Some are open to internal applicants (those already working for the school district) only and, for others, internal applicants have priority over external applicants.

http://www.applytoteach.ca/AttLogin.aspx

Many school districts now prefer applicants to submit an electronic application package instead of a paper one. Apply to Teach is the most popular web site that school districts have contracted out to. It is free to view the job ads, but costs $10 to apply per school district.

chan_konabe

Another web site in which Canadian school districts advertise positions is Education Canada. It is similar to Apply to Teach, but it is free to use.

http://educationcanada.com/

Also check the individual school district web sites for positions. You can find a list of them here:

http://www.bcpsea.bc.ca/public/resou...districts.html

chan_konabe

SnifferBailey - I thought I'd share the answers to the questions you PM'd me in your thread just in case others were wondering the same.

I'm originally from Vancouver, but I've lived in Victoria on-and-off since 1997. It's absolutely beautiful here and a great place to live. As a result, Victoria and Vancouver Island have become destinations for retirees across BC and Canada. Unfortunately, Victoria has been especially hard hit by the declining student population and a few schools have closed, with more on the chopping-block. It's pretty much the same up and down Vancouver Island.

If you prefer the urban areas, You should look for work in the Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley). These are also homes to a few of the very rare school districts that are actually growing, namely Surrey and Chilliwack. However, generally life is tough for new teachers in these areas. You'll get TOC work, but you'll have to put in several years until you get a permanent, full-time position.

If you'd consider living outside of the Lower Mainland, you'll move off the TOC list and into full-time work faster. Unfortunately, there aren't any especially-hot areas at the moment. However, the general rule is that the further away from Vancouver you go, the better. Big centres outside Vancouver include Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George, in order of distance.

Kelowna and the Okanagan area is in a similar situation as Victoria and Vancouver Island. I've recently read that Kelowna also has the lowest housing vacancy rate in all of western Canada. It's really tough to find a house or rent an apartment because it's such a beautiful place to live.

Kamloops is another beautiful area and it is currently booming due to a new university and good town planning. However, this boom hasn't yet translated into more school-aged students.

Prince George has mixed reviews from those who've lived there. It was traditionally a resource-based city and suffered from the downside of that (some crime, substance-abuse problems, pollution and a transient population). However, since a university was built there about 10 years ago, the town has really started to turn around as more and more professional families are moving there. Even my wife and I have considered moving there as family homes are affordable and the surrounding areas, if you love nature, are very beautiful. However, you must be prepared for a Canadian winter.

As I menioned in the above post, there are district specialist positions, but these require at least a master's degree in the area of expertise.

Sniffer Bailey

Thanks a lot for the info and advice, its much appreciated.

Besides applying for jobs as an overseas applicant, is there anything else
I could do?

Is it worth sending my CV to the districts to show what skills
I have in the hope they may need a particular skill/knowledge or
will that just be a waste of time?

Feel so frustrated that I can't do anything about it. Tried phoning some
districts and some wouldn't even talk to me! However, Chilliwack
said there was a shortage of elementary teachers but said I had to wait
for PR before I could apply etc.

Thanks again for your time and patience.

Sniffer Bailey

Sorry to hassle you again but all the responses I have read about teaching,
no-one has mentioned the standard of teaching and whether that will help
you gain a post. What I mean is, if you are an 'excellent' teacher and that
does get recognised by the headteacher or school when you are TOC, can
the school look to employ you or does it have to be through the district.

I feel awkward in saying 'excellent' teacher as its such a personal profession but is the quality of teaching recognised?

chan_konabe

Some districts do not accept unsolicited resumes. They require you to apply for a specific advertised position. It would take just too much manpower for each district's Human Resources department to review large numbers of unsolicited resumes. Even as it is now, the HR process is slow. A friend of mine applied to some school districts in the Okanagan in February and didn't hear back from them until May, only to have an interview scheduled for July.

However, as mentioned above, Chilliwack is a good district to apply for because it is among the few in BC that are actually growing.

Education in BC is heavily unionized so seniority is weighed more over "teaching quality" when filling teaching positions. I'm not saying that the quality of teaching isn't important. In fact, the most difficult, intense, time-consuming interview you will ever have with a school district is your first. This is basically the only chance the school district will ever have to determine if you are a high-quality teacher. If they decide to hire you, you will become an internal candidate and will be bound by the system of hiring agreed upon by the union local and the school district.

The system of hiring varies slightly from school district to school district, but both years of seniority and type of contract are commonly used. I'll describe a simplified version below.

Group 1 - Teachers with a continuing contract.
Group 2 - Teachers with a temporary contract.
Group 3 - Teachers on Call (TOCs)
Group 4 - External applicants.

Say if a teaching position becomes available (ex. full-time continuing contract grade 3 at Chilliwack Elementary School), then all teachers in Group 1 get first choice. If no teachers in Group 1 want the job, then it moves on to Group 2. If no one in Group 2 wants it, then it moves on to Group 3. If no one in Group 3 wants it, then the position goes external and any outside teachers can bid on it.

If two qualified teachers in the same group want the position, then they interview both teachers and look at their years of seniority. If Teacher A has 12 years seniority and Teacher B has 15 years, then Teacher B will get the job. The only situation in which Teacher A would get the job over Teacher B is when Teacher B does not meet the stated prerequisites for the position.

This example is only a simplified version of most districts hiring procedures. It gets more complicated when sub-groups enter the process.

If you'd like to market your excellent teaching ability, then the independent schools are the way to go. In BC, the biggest group of independent schools are the Catholic schools. Other than them, there are countless others, from religious-based to high-academic. Independent schools are outside of the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF), the name of the teachers union in BC. However all teaching positions in BC require that you have teaching certification from the BC College of Teachers.

Juliew

Hi there,

Chan Kanobe is correct with what he is saying. There actually is a surplus of good quality elementary teachers in BC. You could apply to the various boards but they will only consider you once you have arrived and have a valid BC teaching certificate. You will have to start as a TOC or a supply teacher, as everyone else. You could apply to independent schools; however they usually do not pay as well a public schools. Furthermore, the working conditions are usually worst.

Good luck
Julie

Sniffer Bailey

Thanks again for all your excellent info and advice.

chan_konabe

SnifferBailey - Here is some more info to help you. Below are the names of the school districts in BC that have seen an increase in student enrolment, sorted from greatest increase to least increase. I didn't bother to include the many districts who have seen a decrease over the years.

SD93 - Conseil Scolaire Francophone
SD92 - Nisga'a
SD40 - New Westminster
SD91 - Nechako Lakes
SD36 - Surrey
SD34 - Abbotsford
SD33 - Chilliwack
SD42 - Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
SD45 - West Vancouver