Hello out there!

[Desirida]

Hi all. Doing things a little bit back to front - after lurking for a while, inwardly digesting info, replying to a few posts etc - I suddenly find the Intro bit so thought I would do that now!
We are hubby and I (43) plus two children (9 and 7) planning to move to NZ but without any definite time scale at the mo. OH is Iprofessional T geek (his words not mine - I just agree!) and we are looking to get PR on that basis. I have been involved in teaching English as a Second Language for many years but don't have state teaching quals (only for adult ed). I am just trying to finish off a degree (late bloomer) and hope to then upgrade my teaching quals. Understand from some threads that, despite the appearance of great shortages in teaching, it is quite difficult to get a job?

Our children have mixed emotions so far. 9 year old daughter is already behaving like some of the teenagers mentioned on here - "not going, won't leave my friends - will stay here on my own!" Our son can't wait - sees it all as a huge adventure and already loves the idea of the outdoor lifestyle.

OH and I have both been to NZ albeit many, many years ago and are now considering a reccie beforehand because we can't decide on places - not sure on job situation etc. Went to an Expo recently and were told that all the IT jobs were in Auckland and Wellie but we are looking for a more "lifestyle" lifestyle and fancy ChCH or Nelson. Any pointers from people on this would be great.

Also not sure how difficult it is to find school places. In UK it can be almost impossible to get a place in some areas unless you register your child practically from birth!! How is it out there?

Thanks in advance and looking forward to reading more from you all.
Kate

[KiwiHopeful]

Hello Des!

Welcome and good luck!

On the teaching front, what I've been able to gather from personal experience and talking to other NZ teachers and wannabe teachers so far is this:

1. The shortage is mostly for technology (applied and IT), math, science, and early childhood education. (Just as an FYI: That was *not* the case when I began this process--at the time, NZIS and Teach NZ were citing shortages across all secondary areas, including English).

2. New to NZ teachers are expected to cut their teeth by relief/supply (substitute) teaching. Okay for beginners, I guess, but not so much for experienced people. The overseas-trained teachers I've spoken to have seem to spend about 18 months doing this before securing regular positions.

3. NCEA is such a big deal here that it seems to trump everything else in your resume/CV.

4. There are courses for over-seas trained teachers at some of the larger universities to bring them up to speed with NZ's system. The Ed School at the University of Caterbury has one. However, the bitter part of me wants to point out that *no one* told me about this, and I only discovered it myself by accident. I would have thought that somewhere along the line, my case manager, Teach NZ, or the Teachers' Council would have pointed it out--they certainly had no trouble asking all order of things--including hundreds of dollars--from me. Unfortunately, the next course, which runs all day on Saturday for an entire term, does not start until July, and won't be offered unless some unspecified number of people sign up for it.

I don't mean to sound bitter, but I guess I am. I was the principle applicant for our PR and fully expected that since I was able to demonstrate my worth to NZIS that I'd be able to find a job to fit my skills. If someone had told me the four things above, I'd have been better able to make an informed decision.

[Desirida]

Hi KH. Thanks for the info. I have read your other thread regarding teaching work in Chch which quite surprised me as I have been a frequent visitor to Teach NZ to keep an eye on the, seemingly, abundant amount of jobs available. I can understand that you must feel really disillusioned at the moment especially as it sounds as if you have a lot of teaching experience/qualifications. We have done quite a bit of research so far but are realising that most official bodies like NZIS paint a very rosy picture, and that getting work in NZ can be very much a word-of-mouth process.

For my part, my teaching qualification is for adult ed (post 16) so I fully anticipate upgrading/converting this to state trained qualifications and plan to do this in NZ rather than in the UK. My OH will be the principle PR applicant so I am lucky to be able to have that luxury!!

I hope everything works out for you. I do know of some teachers who got work out there and loved the educational system and environment so maybe it is worth hanging in there?

Apart from that - how do you like chch?

[MotherBear]

Hi Kate and welcome to the forum. Good to know that you've been doing your research which goes a long way to helping you move forward both with your application and settling when you get there. Keep up the good work.