Nurses and doctors, technology professionals, skilled manual workers鈥攖hese are some professions that have experienced global labor shortages in recent years.听In many countries,听elementary and high school public teachers are also increasingly in demand.听Because of the difficulty in hiring or retaining local teachers, schools are turning to听the recruitment and even training of听expat teachers.
The UK is offering funded training to expat听teachers听听
The state of immigration in the UK is a听conundrum: as听reported by The Guardian, while the current Conservative government wants to reduce the net immigration rate, the NHS (public health services) and public education system are scrambling to recruit skilled expat workers because of a severe labor shortage.
Why does this shortage in education exist? Not only are not enough locals joining education, but many existing local teachers are also resigning and transitioning to other careers. A survey of the听UK's听Department of Education (DeF) shockingly found that 9% of all public school teachers, representing 40,000 teachers, resigned before their retirement in the听single听2022-2023 school year. Insatisfaction with their pay, long working hours (sometimes leading to burnout), and a lack of support/resources to handle pupil misbehavior have听been cited听as the reasons behind the mass resignation of local teachers.
The UK government has launched a听special听campaign called听Get Into Teaching. They guide people interested in a teaching career by giving them one-to-one support on the phone.听The good news is that they also offer this personalized support to international applicants, including those from听outside the EU/EEA.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is required to become a full-fledged teacher in the UK.听There are multiple ways to get QTS: a 1-year academic听course;听a course combined with paid placement in a听school;听and getting it directly through assessment (only for experienced teachers, even if this experience is in another country and system).
If fully self-funded, the 1-year course can be expensive for international applicants: around 拢15,000 (~US$20,000) in fees, plus living costs. However, because of the severe shortage for some subjects, state funding is available to sponsor even international applicants. Prospective expat secondary school teachers who teach modern foreign languages (Spanish, French, German) or physics can receive a bursary worth up to 拢28,000 or a scholarship worth up to 拢30,000 for a QTS course.听There exists听an online training called iQTS (International Qualified Teacher Status) tailored to non-UK teachers, but this cannot receive UK state funding.
School Direct, or salaried teacher training, on-site in the UK is also听a great听option for free training for expat teachers. They are paid a minimum salary during their 1-year or 2-year training, which is 拢20,598 in England in general and up to 拢25,831 in inner areas of London with a higher cost of living. The hitch? This training requires a valid work visa in the UK, even if the expat does not have indefinite leave to remain or permanent residency. The school or training program cannot sponsor a work visa听for them, so they need another visa such as听the Graduate听Visa, High Potential Individual (HPI) Visa, or India Young Professionals Scheme Visa. The duration of your visa must overlap with the duration of the salaried teacher training program you enroll in 鈥� the training must not be even one week longer than your visa duration.
Last year,听a pilot project was introduced听to pay expat teachers a 拢10,000 relocation package to move to the UK to work or work and train simultaneously. It was only for physics and modern foreign language teachers. Unfortunately, this program has听been discontinued听this year. Education stakeholders, including the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers, have criticized this cancelation because the Department of Education failed to meet 50% of its recruitment goals last year.
There is a shortage of English teachers in听France听
The French newspaper Le Monde reports that, at the start of the new academic year in September 2023, there were a whopping 3,000 unfilled teaching positions in French public schools. A survey of the SNES-FSU, an organization of unions of high school teachers, found that at least one teaching position remains unfilled in 1 out of 2 middle schools听(鈥渃oll猫ges鈥�)听or high schools听(鈥渓yc茅es鈥�).
The challenges in recruiting or retaining local teachers are similar to those听in the UK: stagnating wages or wages that are lower than the average in OECD countries, long working hours, and high听student-teacher ratios in classrooms. As explained by Rokhaya Diallo in The Guardian piece听鈥淔rance's听schools are in crisis 鈥� and it has nothing to do with听pupils'听dress鈥澨�� poorer regions, which also tend to be the most ethnically diverse regions in terms of student demographics, are the most badly hit by understaffing.听As an expat teacher, if you join the public education system, you听are likely to get听assigned to a state school in these regions 鈥� not to state schools in posh neighborhoods of Paris, which are already staffed by more experienced local teachers.
Teachers from any country in the European Union can, of course, apply directly to teach in France. How about passionate teachers from the rest of the world? There exists a route for young English teachers (no older than 35) from the US called the TAPIF (Teaching Assistant Program in France) route. English is one of the subjects with the most severe shortage in French public schools. Young Americans can teach English in French for a year if they have at least B1 (intermediate) proficiency in French.听It is听a great听foot in the door for young graduates who听do not have much听teaching experience听yet.听However, this program does not guarantee securing a more long-term teaching position in the country.
Of course, an alternative route is to first听go to听France as a student and then join the workforce upon graduating. Higher education remains relatively affordable in France, as public universities have听very low听fees, even for non-EU students.听
When expat teachers first join the French education system, they听are considered听unqualified teachers, even if they听were听fully qualified in another country. Unqualified teachers have a first degree but have not passed either of these two competitive exams yet: the CAPES听(鈥淐ertificat听d'aptitude听au professorat de听l'enseignement听du second degr茅鈥澨齩r听鈥淐ertificate of aptitude for secondary school teacher鈥�)听and the Agr茅gation. The Agr茅gation is for applicants with a听Master's听degree and is more competitive. They lead to higher-paying jobs with less intensive workloads.听
As unqualified teachers, expats can get hired as contractual teachers.听This听means that they are on a fixed contract for听a number of听months or even sometimes weeks, often to fill a vacancy that has听not received听enough interest from fully qualified teachers.听These听teachers'听salaries are also lower than听those of听fully qualified teachers.
Canada is looking for a million new skilled听expats听in the next听2听years 鈥� including听teachers
Canada is one of the countries that is most open to immigration right now. The federal Canadian听government's听immigration target for the near future is 500,000 new expats in 2025 and 500,000 more in 2026 鈥� a total of a million in two years.
Ontario, the largest province in terms of population (around 14 million), home to the capital Ottawa and the metropolis of Toronto, is听one of the affected provinces听by a teacher shortage.听The non-profit People For Education has told the newspaper CP24 that over a quarter of all schools in the province are understaffed, with understaffing affecting more secondary schools (35%). Many schools are employing unqualified teachers on a contractual basis. While this can represent a safety and quality concern, it also allows those new to the profession, including newly arrived expat teachers who are still听getting听qualified, to gain valuable experience.
The francophone province of Quebec is also affected. Global News reports that the Quebecois Education Minister Bernard Drainville said at the start of the new academic year in September 2023 that there were still around 8,500 unfilled teaching positions, both full-time and part-time. Like in many places听around the world, teachers in Quebec have been protesting and even going on strike to improve their pay, reduce their workload (which is difficult in an understaffed system), and create more manageable student-teacher ratios in classrooms.听
Teaching in Quebec can be a good opportunity for expats from other francophone countries because French is the language of instruction in most Quebecois schools.听A minority of听both听public and private schools in the province听do听teach in English, though.听Even better news: Quebec eases the process for recognizing foreign qualifications for expat teachers from certain francophone countries听as well as听some other countries.听These countries are France, Belgium, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon,听Ivory听Coast,听as well as听the US, Romania, Moldova, Egypt听and听Colombia.听听
The听more听remote Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta听and听Nunavut also suffer from a teacher shortage.听The Nunavut听Teachers'听Association reported a vacancy rate of nearly 10% at the start of the new academic year in 2023, which is over 80 positions they听are struggling听to fill.听Teacher salaries in Nunavut are听particularly听high to accommodate for the high cost of living, remoteness, and harsh climate听of the region.
As reported by Nunatsiaq News, teachers in Nunavut were granted a 7% raise by the regional government two years ago. Experienced teachers with at least听10听years of experience make close to CA$125,000 there now,听which is听as much as a doctor, while junior teachers can start earning from CA$80,000. Even unqualified teachers, including new expats training to get fully qualified, can earn CA$ 175听per day.听While moving听to the northernmost region of Canada听can听seem daunting, it听might be听a great professional and financial move for expat teachers.听
What are the routes to immigrating to Canada, and how do you get qualified as a teacher once听you're听there? The most popular skilled immigration routes, especially the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Express Entry Program and the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), are also open to teachers or prospective teachers.听
If you studied outside of Canada, you听would need to听get your qualifications assessed through the Educational Credentials Assessment (ECA) process. If you are an elementary school teacher, you would need a听Bachelor's听in Education, and if you are a middle/high school teacher, a first degree in the subject you teach (e.g., chemistry, Spanish) followed by at least four semesters of a teacher education program. Given that many schools are contracting unqualified teachers because of the labor shortage, as an expat, you could well start working part-time as an unqualified teacher while studying in a teacher training program.
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