In any graduating class of educators there is generally a small percentage of grads drawn by the lure of teaching in a far away land.  As a young graduate I considered the idea of teaching in what was then known as Canada’s Northwest Territories. I had chosen Pangnirtung, an Inuit hamlet in what is now know as Nunavut, for my first teaching position thinking with the mindset of a missionary, bent on converting the natives with my gospel of modern science.  However local job offers came my way and my dream of teaching in the frozen north was never realized.

Fast forward 40 years and the landscape for educators has radically changed.  International opportunities abound as the economies of developing nations expand.   Demands for goods, services, and especially educational services have soared in countries like China, Mexico, Columbia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and many others.  Just starting to ramp up is the African Continent where demand for educators is expected to rise dramatically over the next decade.

Overlay this expansion of educator demand with a contraction in the number of university trained educators and we have a reasonably predictable outcome; a shortage of teachers.  It’s a predicament that schools in the US and the UK are currently experiencing.  What this means for qualified and effective teachers, is higher salaries, increased opportunity, and more international choices.

 

At a recent job fair held at a prominent Canadian University, recruiters from over 50 schools gathered to interview recent education graduates for positions at International Private Schools.  Many jobs were up for grabs with schools offering a variety of incentives to gain favour with candidates.  What struck me was this metric; how much money can a teacher save over the course of the year long contract?  Of course the amount is a function of several variables but it is a data-bite not lost on job seekers. Other perks include full medical coverage, free accommodations with transport to school, return airline tickets, bonuses based on performance and skill-set.

SchoolAdvice, providing services to families, schools and educators, is now expanding its Career Network to include International Education Opportunities.  Individual job posting will soon be available on the Network.  The new service currently includes over 40 International Independent and Private schools with links to the school’s employment/career page.  Educators seeking opportunities can access the links to view the most current jobs available.  Four schools are shown below:

Michael Hayes,  CEO SchoolAdvice