Job Discussion Forums

[jlam21]

Hello all,

I've done a quick search and wasn't able to find much about the recruitment agency, TimePlan.

I am thinking of heading over to England to teach English through TimePlan for the January 2011 term and was wondering if anyone has any experience going through this agency to find work. Or if anyone else is planning on heading over soon, too?

I would also greatly appreciate it if anyone would like to share their experiences with TimePlan.

As a recent B.Ed graduate from Canada, this will be my first real experience with teaching and moving abroad alone, so any insight would be great!

Thanks in advance!

[artemisia]

As an agency they're not really that diffferent from any other such as some of the bigger, more well-known ones like Protocol. Are you planning to teach English as a school subject or ESL? I doubt there'd be much work there in high schools if it's the latter.

[jlam21]

I'd be looking for teaching English as a subject.

If you don't mind me asking, how much were you making through TimePlan? Would you say that all these agencies pay about the same?

Which area were you teaching in when you were working for TimePlan?

[artemisia]

I�d summarise my experiences with the following points: the UK agencies are like most, if not all agencies, in that they're essentially out for number one. That�s not to say you won�t get reasonable service but just remember they pick up big commissions from their fee paying clients = the schools (not teachers) and they get those commissions by filling vacancies. Some agencies may be straight up with you about what a particular position entails, some may not and some may just not know. If you�re on the spot, you�ll have a better idea of how things are but if something is arranged in advance, then you�re dependent on the info that the agency provides obviously.
Protocol and Capita-education are the bigger players; all have their pros and cons.

I can�t remember pay details (think all agencies pay much the same) but what�s useful to know is that there is an agency � Key Portfolio - that can manage your finances if you decide to sign up with them (you can do so through any of the recruitment agencies � they should all have sign up info on Key). You can claim on all kinds of expenses including your air tickets as long as you travel straight to the UK from your home country. There�s a cut off date with Key from whenever you arrive so you�ll need to check all this out with them if you�re interested. I was there on an EU passport but I don�t think it matters which country you come from in terms ofclaiming. Look under this:

mykeypay.com/page/introduction/

[TwinCentre]

After working for Timeplan, Capita, Personnel and Select, I have to say Timeplan came out on top. They had the best customer service attitude and offered more free training and worked hard to form a community amongst teachers. They also took teachers more seriously and didn't pass the buck when faced with enquiries.


They didn't pay as much as Capita, but more than Personnel and Select.