jon254

Does anyone have any experience of registering with the OCT. Time frames and difficulties with registration.

Going through PR currently have all the pack from OCT, but have heard stories of degrees not reaching equivalency and registrations being turned down :scared: . How much validity is there in these rumours.


If you could give any advice or insight into your experiences they would be welcome.

Jon

sue8899

Mine took over two years and then got rejected....very annoying after I had been offered jobs as a teacher with various chool boards! Seems to depend on the method of training in the UK....if you went through the PGCE route then you should be okay but if you had anything to do with the Open university or Graduate Teacher Training Courses you may have difficulty....
I have heard things are changing...so hopefully people won't have to go through so much hassle in future....

jon254

Hi Sue

Thanks for the reply, and sorry for the delay responding. Could I ask if they specify the ground for not accepting you? Were any alternatives offered, or advice from OCT on what additional requirements would enable you to be certified? Are you secondary or primary?

It would seem OCT would benefit the forign trained teachers by allowing initial review and applications prior to PR so that these things could be established before the move. I know the college of nursing allow you to begin the application process prior to PR, makes sense!

What are your plans now? (If you do n't mind me asking.

Thanks in anticipation

Jon

sue8899

I don't mind you asking at all. Reason specified for turning me down was that the Graduate Teacher Training Course I undertook in England was based on 50% teaching 50% attendance in university. The OCT wanted 20% teaching 80% university attendance. Makes no sense to me as the practical experience i gained being a "teacher" from day one was excellent. Yes the university attendance for theory etc is very important and so long as the grades are attained and a good understanding gained I cannot see a problem. There only solution OCT offered was for me to retake the whole teacher training year here at one of the TT institutions.

I know there are pilot projects now springing up in some school boards recognising the fact that internationally trained teachers are under utilised so you may be in one of those areas. Toronto, Durham currently I beleive.

I have made the decision not to retrain (cannot afford it to begin with) and with all the politics over here in teaching strikes etc i could not do that! Also I think the whole way of employing teachers through central school boards and the teacher being at the mercy of their decisions and their choice of where to place you is very backward looking and very unfair to teachers, especially those like me with commitments.

I did by the way get accepted onto the school board (simcoe) and they had a position for me as soon as i got the OCT certificate. The OCT does not work with the school boards!! This made no difference to them. I also had a lot of interviews with Principlas who told me my skills were very much needed! Go figure!

sue8899

Sorry i was Secondary in England and was looking to go into intermediate here. Grades 7-10 specifically.

jon254

I know what you mean about the mercy of the board. My school exchanges with a few in BC, their teachers voiced the same concerns. The fact that you are not fixed to a specific school and can be sent anywhere the board has need for you.

The whole percentage teaching and theory seems ridiculous. Following my degree research was published in the UK comparing teachers passing through "Academic training" and those through "School based" training showing within two years their standards of teaching and knowledge of concepts taught was the same. Obviously these papers not yet made there way across the pond!!

I question whether I'll be accepted but more on the grounds of subject than anything else, can't seem to find the Design Technology niche in the Ontario system. Plus the fact that I teach ICT over here is only going to confuse matters. Still got to try, and got to hope.

Thanks again for the extra info, just one last thing, is two years for application processing the norm? or was that the result of apeals?

Thanks again

Jon

sue8899

I don't think 2 years is the norm....that was probably becuase of the issues with my training method.
Are you going through the technology route? If the principals are in desperate need then they can employ you uncertified but apparantly the ones I talked to didn't want to do that becuase of the mountain of paperwork involved!!
I only hear of people from England having a hard time getting their OCT, the OCT seem tomake us jump through more hoops for some reason.
If you have the energy and time then fight it all the way but forme I had enough! I know the certification process will change very soon but whether I can be bothered at that point doubtful.
Let me know what happens with your Certification.

jon254

Hi Sue
Sorry for the delay. No I'm going through the General studies route. No work experience other then teaching in the last 8 years.

I've been trawling the OCT web site with regards to changes to certification but can't find anything. Would you mind expanding on what you know.

Will be over there on a visit in a months time deciding on the possibility of Study visa, or exploring other options to get out there a bit sooner then the 12 months left before PR begins to be assessed.

What are your plans?

Jon

sue8899

The changes to certification i have only heard about through the principals and their expectations. If you go through a general search for teacher training programs and certification on the net you should come accross the pilot projects that are happening in some Ontario regions at the moment. I am sorry but i cant rememebr the actual sites!

Good luck on your visit and i hope everything works the way you want it to.

Quinn of Québec

[QUOTE=sue8899] Seems to depend on the method of training in the UK....if you went through the PGCE route then you should be okay [QUOTE]

Having stumbled upon this sectionof the forum -this thread rather put the wind up me!

I did a BSc then a PGCE and have 8 years experience in the classroom as a qualified teacher - surely I'll be ok??

Please tell me you know of other PGCE route tecahers who had no probs or I'll start losing sleep!

Q of Q

sue8899

If you can get the University where you completed your PGCE to send the paperwork directly to the Ontario College of Teachers it shouldn't be a problem.

It all depends on paperwork...if you can't get the right paperwork sent to the OCT then you will probably come have problems and it may take a while to get certification.

I hope it all goes well for you



[QUOTE=Quinn of Québec][QUOTE=sue8899] Seems to depend on the method of training in the UK....if you went through the PGCE route then you should be okay

jon254

Hey Quinn.

As Sue has said just make sure you get info from University and everything should be OK. OCT are looking for the balance between classroom practice and academic study. Cant remember the exact figures but if you goto the OCT web site the info is there.

Alternatively if you're, as your monika suggests, going to Quebec then I've put a load of links in another thread in the Forum but I've copied it here just in case.

"All provinces have differing regulations and requirments. best bet is to go to the provincial website and check to see what they want. The site following has a list of all of them "

http://www.caslt.org/Info/associations.htm

I 've heard a number of people with PGCE's obtaining Registration , and also B.Ed program teachers, the problem areas seem based around those on Graduate teacher programs, or school based teacher programs.

No point worrying, if / when you get over apply, if you want it badly you may have to go to Uni for a couple of Years, else find somthing else. Thats the risk I'm taking and the same any professional takes. I read about a dentist trained in the UK having to do a 2 year conversion to practice in Canada :scared: , and he was told that before he got over here :scared: :scared: .

Good luck and keep upbeat, but as Sue has taught me, maintain a healthy dose of realism.

All the Best

Jon

Tom Masters

[QUOTE=Quinn of Québec][QUOTE=sue8899] Seems to depend on the method of training in the UK....if you went through the PGCE route then you should be okay I have heard of people with PGCEs being accepted by the OCT if that helps to ease your mind at all.

I recently registered with the OCT and have a B.Ed and M.A. Everything was accepted ok although they're not the most efficient bunch on the planet from my experience!

Chris

Tom Masters

Sorry for hijacking your thread a little bit Jon! I just have a question for you Sue if you don't mind me asking.

I am currently in London Ont and the local school board is pretty bad for jobs. We are going to be looking at other areas this summer as we would like to live closer to water.

Can you tell me what you think of Collingwood at all? Do you know whether teaching jobs are like gold dust there too and what the Simcoe public and catholic school boards are like?

Thanks,

Chris

Quinn of Québec

Just as an update . . .

i returned last weekend after a 2 week stay in Québec. In this time I managed to get my qualifications approved by the ministry of citizenship and immigration AND got them approved by the ministry of education which in turn has resulted in me being granted a permit to teach in Québec.

I am sure it would have been ten times more hassle if I had been doing this with the OCT (just looking at the FAQ section of their web site is scary enough).

So my advice, if you want to teach in Ontario consider instead teaching in Québec. It's only 'next door'so to speak and it is such a beautful province. If you are worried about being an anglophone in a majority francophone society don't be - there are mant areas which are bilingual and indeed the west side of Montreal (a lively and dynamic city) is anglophone.

I also managed to visit 6 anglophone schools in the province and let me tell you, they were dynamic learning environments with much better attitudes and behaviour then those in the UK.

Icing on the cake; I got some job offers!

So despite my initial fears about certifictaion (see posts above) I managed to get everything sorted in terms of qualifications and a job to boot in just 2 weeks!

So think about Québec. There are many areas of teacher shortages; if you're a maths teacher for example you'll be snapped up. If anyone does decide on teaching in this province I now have lot's of contacts and info and would be glad to help - just let me know.

Vive le Québec!

Q of Q