Coming to Canada as a Teacher

[Rubyred]

I read a lot of threads where they said it was hopeless for teachers from abroad to get a job as a teacher in Canada. It's not true.

1. I wanted to settle in BC so I went to their website https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/become-a-teacher/applying-outside-bc

2. I applied for the Independent School Teaching Certificate - it's the easiest to get and almost guaranteed. There is a lot of paper work involved and may set you back by about $1K.

3. Apply to a private / independent school for jobs. It will help if you have a stellar educational background / experience. Ignore the naysayers who say you need a Canadian accent (but you have to be intelligible of course). Inform them that you already have an independent school teaching certificate and the school would only need to apply for a Letter of Permission (LOP) for you. Again, this is easy for the school to obtain (maybe a week or so). Apply to ALL and any private school. I told them I would move to Canada as soon as I was hired and wait for the LMIA. You'll probably need to come in as a visitor and wait.

4. The private school that hires you will get a LMIA for you.

5. After 6 months - 1 year, apply for a BC teaching Certificate of Qualification. Include that fact that you have been teaching in a Canadian school and therefore know the curriculum etc.

6. If you're lucky, you'll get the teaching license, and in the worst case scenario, they'll ask you to complete a couple of courses.

CAVEAT

1. My bachelors degree was completed in Canada.

2. My Masters degree was completed in Australia.

3. I'm a person of colour.

4. I was a teacher in a Southeast Asian country (my PGDE was from this country)

5. I started applying for jobs in BC in 2019, when there was a teacher shortage in BC (BTW there still is a shortage). I secured a job and began teaching at a private school in 2020 and got my Certificate of Qualification in Jan of 2021. In July of 2021, I became a PR which meant that I could apply to public schools. In September of 2021, I applied for a public school job and was fortunate enough to secure a position as a TTOC (sub) and then later, was assigned a continuing position. I love my job at the district I'm working at and thank god every day I'm in Canada doing what I love best - teaching!

Good Luck on your journey!

 

[YVR123]

Did your degree in Canada and Australia play any factor in getting the certification so quickly?
Was the private school religious? (That would help because religious background school would prefer teachers who practice or at least are familiar with the religion.)
Just want to give more context to the information you have provided.

This is a very interesting route to go through private school first. And get fully qualified while teaching and I think this may help others.

Welcome to BC.

 

[Rubyred]

1. I believe that the Canadian degree played a part in securing the Certificate of Qualification - implied that I had knowledge of the education system I suppose. However, to get the Independent School certificate, as long as the degree is recognised, it doesn't matter where it was completed. The Masters played no part in the certification; it however played an important role in my pay grade after I was certified when I applied for a job in a public school. i.e. I was placed in the highest category - 6. That is why I encourage teachers to get their Independent School Certificate first. You will have at least some sort of credibility, certification when you apply for jobs in Canada.

2. I worked at a private religious school whose faith was not the same as mine. Religion was not a factor. However, it could be an asset.

3. It also helped that the medium of instruction in schools in the country I'm from is English. Everything is done in English.

 

[canuck78]

The market has changed drastically in the past few years going from a surplus of teachers in Canada to a huge demand because enrolment in teacher’s college was decreased around a decade ago since teacher’s were waiting for years to get employed after graduation. Many also retired early for a variety of reasons but Covid pushed even more people out of the profession. Cost of living in places like Vancouver also created demand for teachers in the city which is why you may have gotten a job in BC. Very rural locations across Canada have also often struggled to attract teachers so even during the surplus days some international teachers got hired in those locations. There is demand especially for some subjects like French or French immersion. If you are a practicing Catholic you are much more likely to get a job. Unfortunately the Catholic boards still exist and are allowed to discriminate and only hire teachers who are practicing Catholic. There is still a huge bias for Canadian degrees and experience. If not Canadian experience one of the larger English speaking countries like US, UK, Australia, etc. come next. The enrolment in teacher’s college will likely be increased leading to another surplus. The whole thing is cyclical.

 

[Rubyred]

The market has changed drastically in the past few years going from a surplus of teachers in Canada to a huge demand because enrolment in teacher’s college was decreased around a decade ago since teacher’s were waiting for years to get employed after graduation. Many also retired early for a variety of reasons but Covid pushed even more people out of the profession. Cost of living in places like Vancouver also created demand for teachers in the city which is why you may have gotten a job in BC. Very rural locations across Canada have also often struggled to attract teachers so even during the surplus days some international teachers got hired in those locations. There is demand especially for some subjects like French or French immersion. If you are a practicing Catholic you are much more likely to get a job. Unfortunately the Catholic boards still exist and are allowed to discriminate and only hire teachers who are practicing Catholic. There is still a huge bias for Canadian degrees and experience. If not Canadian experience one of the larger English speaking countries like US, UK, Australia, etc. come next. The enrolment in teacher’s college will likely be increased leading to another surplus. The whole thing is cyclical.

1. There has always been and will always be a demand for French / French immersion teachers and for schools in rural areas.

2. Immigration to BC and the decrease in class sizes (union win in 2016) has increased demand for teachers.

3. COVID did not have any significant impact on increasing the demand for teachers.

4. It is in suburb areas where teachers are needed - Langley, Surrey etc. You'll be hard-pressed to find a teaching job in Vancouver.

5. Not sure about your claim that 'international teacher got hired in' very rural areas. Qualified internationally trained teachers can get hired anywhere, not just in rural areas. I hope you're not suggesting that public schools are hiring unqualified internationally trained teachers.

6. Catholic schools are not the only private schools hiring, nor are they the most prevalent. There are lots of Sikh and Muslim Schools for example - If I'm not mistaken, Khalsa School is the biggest private school in BC and they hire people from different faiths and nationalities. Don't listen to non-teachers who keep claiming that there are 'huge' bias for Canadian experience and degrees. Private schools are on the hunt for the best teachers and they do NOT limit their hiring to people from a certain region.

7. Not sure what this 'teacher's college' you're referring to. There are very limited spaces in the Teacher Education Programs like SFU and UBC. so not sure about your surplus forecast.

8. Foreign trained teachers have the option of enrolling in programs like the SFU PLP to become fully certified.

I remember when I first came here for a visit in 2019, people were telling me that there was no need for teachers in Canada and that schools would never hire a non-European. If you don't try, you'll never know! That's what we teach our kids - we should take our own advice!

 

[canuck78]

1. There has always been and will always be a demand for French / French immersion teachers and for schools in rural areas.

2. Immigration to BC and the decrease in class sizes (union win in 2016) has increased demand for teachers.

3. COVID did not have any significant impact on increasing the demand for teachers.

4. It is in suburb areas where teachers are needed - Langley, Surrey etc. You'll be hard-pressed to find a teaching job in Vancouver.

5. Not sure about your claim that 'international teacher got hired in' very rural areas. Qualified internationally trained teachers can get hired anywhere, not just in rural areas. I hope you're not suggesting that public schools are hiring unqualified internationally trained teachers.

6. Catholic schools are not the only private schools hiring, nor are they the most prevalent. There are lots of Sikh and Muslim Schools for example - If I'm not mistaken, Khalsa School is the biggest private school in BC and they hire people from different faiths and nationalities. Don't listen to non-teachers who keep claiming that there are 'huge' bias for Canadian experience and degrees. Private schools are on the hunt for the best teachers and they do NOT limit their hiring to people from a certain region.

7. Not sure what this 'teacher's college' you're referring to. There are very limited spaces in the Teacher Education Programs like SFU and UBC. so not sure about your surplus forecast.

8. Foreign trained teachers have the option of enrolling in programs like the SFU PLP to become fully certified.

I remember when I first came here for a visit in 2019, people were telling me that there was no need for teachers in Canada and that schools would never hire a non-European. If you don't try, you'll never know! That's what we teach our kids - we should take our own advice!

1. There wasn’t demand for French immersion teachers throughout Canada until the mid 2000s when French immersion started becoming popular with immigrants. English language education had been the preferred education for a long time for new Canadians and their children and many longterm Canadians. French immersion became more desirable when it was viewed as harder to get into and those who were struggling with academics were often moved to English only education.

2. That is not the only reason that their was an increased demand for teachers. Due to the high cost of living and low pay many teachers left BC.

3. Yes it did because many teachers eligible for retirement, close to retirement and those with medical needs decided to leave the profession. There is a huge number of teachers on medical leave increasing the need for teachers. Supply list were usually filled with retired teachers and some new teachers waiting to find a longterm position. Most of the retired teachers were no longer willing to do any supply teaching due to Covid increasing the need for teachers.

4. There are so many children leaving Vancouver and those who live in metro Van often attend private school so there isn’t a huge need for teachers in Vancouver proper except usually French teachers. You will find openings in private schools versus public in Vancouver.

5. In some provinces, including in some areas in BC, international teachers can get hired if they are licensed but without a bridging program or Canadian degree in education. Some of the jobs are on reserves. This is especially the case in the least populated provinces and with many small remote communities. They can’t afford to place too many demands since they already struggle to attract teachers

6. Catholic public schools are incredibly different than every other religious school because they are mostly public schools. To work in a public Catholic school you must be a practicing Catholic. Most provinces are required to have secular and Catholic French and aEnglish boards. All other religious education is private. Maybe in some Vancouver private schools and religious schools they are more open to hiring teachers with a variety of experience. Most prefer hiring people belonging to that faith so the hiring trends represent the majority of schools which are Public schools or the independent private school system who operate as somewhat of their own board. The majority of Canadians do not attend private faith based schools. For example in a Jewish day school you are more likely to hire a conservative Jewish person as a teacher who could have been a teacher throughout the world at another day school or from Canada who likely went to a Jewish day school. These are insular communities and operate without contact with most Canadians. When it comes to the prestigious and expensive private schools across Canada they do prefer Canadian experience or at least international school experience in international schools or top tier schools from other English or French countries. Many like to hire previous alumni who went through the Canadian independent private school system. For language teachers they are likely to try and hire native speakers to provide the best language education to their students.

7. As previously noted there was a huge surplus of graduating students from teachers college so admission was decreased across Canada. That has lead to a shortage because the cut to spots was too big and for too long and many teachers are facing burnout, retiring early, etc. on top of that. You can attend teacher’s college across Canada and move to BC to teach.

8. Every province has different rules from repeating a degree, doing a bridging program to having your foreign credentials evaluated to qualify to get licensed as a teacher.

The demand and hiring practice vary greatly between provinces and even areas. You happened to have arrived at exactly the right time when there was a sudden demand in BC due to classroom size ruling and due to low wages and high cost of living BC was already struggling to retain teachers. The shortage of teachers has spread to many other locations partially due to Covid but also due to the reduction in teacher’s college spot around 15 years ago when it did take years to get a full-time job. There is also a large cohort of retiring teachers who were baby boomers because teaching was one of the main jobs for women at the time. It is not uncommon for the government to be very slow to react to the needs of the labour market. There was a shortage of pharmacists in Canada before 2005-2010 depending on where you lived. The schools dramatically increased enrolment and the immigration programs favoured foreign trained pharmacists and so now there is a huge surplus of pharmacists and salaries of community pharmacists have been decreasing over 15 years and finding a permanent job with benefits is difficult. Many work part-time in many locations for less pay than they would have received 20 years ago without factoring in inflation.

 

[Rubyred]

Thanks for repeating my points

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for repeating my points

Far from repeating what you said.

 

[steaky]

4. There are so many children leaving Vancouver and those who live in metro Van often attend private school so there isn’t a huge need for teachers in Vancouver proper except usually French teachers. You will find openings in private schools versus public in Vancouver.

Despite of this, especially in the suburbs, newcomers often had to go to another school because their catchment public school are full. Also, there are always new schools being build or built for newly developed master planned communties because of growing population.

 

[Peruantaran]

I want to return to your initial point and note that such stigmatization about the impossibility of employment as a teacher doesn't only apply to Canada

 

[YVR123]

I want to return to your initial point and note that such stigmatization about the impossibility of employment as a teacher doesn't only apply to Canada. It's like a version of the protectionist legend that varies from country to country, but the meaning remains the same. I believe that hiring a foreign teacher, on the contrary, can be considered a significant benefit because children understand multiculturalism more through communication with the teacher. Once I tried to get a job in London, and I also thought that no one was waiting for me like that and my hopes were absurd. However, I received an invitation to interview for Teaching Jobs London. Many educational institutions are actually open to accepting new people.

UK system is VERY different than Canadian. (from that link...looks like you are talking about London, UK not London, Ontario.

So you are telling teachers who want to come to Canada to go to UK instead. That may be a possibility.

 

[Naturgrl]

UK system is VERY different than Canadian. (from that link...looks like you are talking about London, UK not London, Ontario.

So you are telling teachers who want to come to Canada to go to UK instead. That may be a possibility.

Person is spamming.

 

[YVR123]

Person is spamming.

so many of them. I remove links when I qoute... so ... just in case, I don't help them to spread the spam links.

 

[canuck78]

UK system is VERY different than Canadian. (from that link...looks like you are talking about London, UK not London, Ontario.

So you are telling teachers who want to come to Canada to go to UK instead. That may be a possibility.

The UK is desperate for teachers because their pay rates are significantly lower than most Canadian provinces. Canada Is benefiting from the low rates of pay from teachers to NHS workers. Many are immigrating. In general where you have been trained and what your work experience is makes a huge difference in terms of hiring international teachers. Still a huge bias when hiring for teachers from 5Is or those who have taught in the top International schools around the world.

 

[Islandteachagirl]

Hello
I have applied for my study permit and is awaiting the response.
I have a teaching background and would like to have this option available when I get to Canada; as such I have started the process in applying for the license. (Saskatchewan) I was advised by the regulatory board that citizensip or PR status does not affect getting a license.

I would like to find out if an international student can work as a teacher with the requisite license?