APU Careers Careers & Learning

New Ways of Finding Teaching Jobs Abroad

teaching-abroadBy Albert Roberts
Online Career Tips, Guest Contributor

A qualified teacher doesn’t always land in the position that he or she most wants. Traditional primary teaching jobs in London were the province of chance: you found work when you could and accepted your lot. Now, though, independent teacher recruitment agencies are supplying a new route for temporary and full time teaching positions throughout London.

Schools and teachers both know the importance of putting the right person in the right role. The best learning is done when the person doing the teaching has an affinity and passion for both subject and the children he or she is teaching. In order to get the best teachers into the places that are waiting for them, the assistance of an outside agency is required.

An agency that provides primary teaching jobs, as well as secondary teaching services, works in much the same way as a regular job agency. Candidates register with the agency, which builds them a profile according to their qualifications and employment history. The candidate is then put forward for work in areas most appropriate to his or her skills and ambitions.

Schools looking for temporary teachers, cover and support staff can cut out the stress of trying to source their own primary teaching candidates from scratch, by building a relationship with a trusted teacher’s employment agency. Once it has built a long term association with a good agency, a school will save time and effort on every appointment – not to mention the stress that normally goes hand in hand with trying to find a good cover or replacement teacher at short notice.

The benefits to teachers are clearly substantial. By joining a well reputed agency with a city wide coverage (there are 32 boroughs of London to look for jobs in), candidates looking for the right teaching jobs in London instantly widen their net to include every likely position in every school.

So, what defines a good teaching recruitment agency? Support- for both teacher and school. The immediate nature of a teaching job – i.e. the fact that a teacher needs to perform from day one of his or her contract – demands a support network but often doesn’t get one. A teaching recruitment agency that provides backup both to the people it sends to schools and to the schools it sends people to, generates a superior reputation by ensuring that every single candidate looking for primary teaching jobs in London is given the backup to perform well.

Generally speaking, a quality teaching recruitment agency will operate a strong vetting and references policy when you apply to join. Expect to be asked for two strong references; official evidence of your right to work in the UK; and original copies of all your qualification certificates. You’ll also be thoroughly checked against all appropriate registers.

Quality teaching recruitment agencies are able to supply the perfect candidates for primary teaching jobs – and to match them to the positions that will bring out the best in them.

About the Author:

Albert Roberts is a humanities teacher in a secondary school in London, England.  Prior to his current role he taught in primary schools across the city.  He can be found blogging about the different challenges facing teachers today, from finding work, planning lessons, engaging young minds and preparing your students for final exams. 

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