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Past Experiences with Al Nawa?
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thecoolteacher



Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:21 pm    Post subject: Past Experiences with Al Nawa? Reply with quote

Teachers need to review these recruiting companies. It is the only way that we will be treated fairly while in Oman or other Gulf countries.

Too many teachers have been tricked over the years.

Al Nawa is still hiring these days but teachers don't report their past experiences with them. So how can we know if they are trustworthy?

It would be helpful and good for our careers if more teachers started to write reviews on their former employers.
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 3:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's generally the case that if an employer isn't mentioned on fora such as this then they're ok. Tends to be the bad ones that are reported.
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Whatever will be



Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 303

PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 7:26 am    Post subject: Review Reply with quote

Anyone reading through the various threads will find that Al Nawa hasn't received any awards for their "services". Specific cons are mentioned such as:
* bait and switch
(promise the world to get the teacher into Oman, after that....who cares?)
* take the passport
(a trap to stop the teacher from running away)
* take the hotel cost out of the pay
(well, the teacher could have slept on the beach...)
* let the teacher pay their own commute to work
(it's a pain to get up in the morning and drive the teacher to work, let them pay 10 Rial per day instead...who cares?)
* assistance in finding housing
(if the teacher doesn't speak Arabic and has no idea about the local real estate market...that's the teacher's problem)
*assistance in setting up a bank account and other infrastructure
(teachers should do this by themselves, after all it teaches independence)
*reimbursement of medical expenses
( no claims during the first 12 months, teachers need to read the fineprint)

Just remember: this ain't Asia where teachers are supported. Oman used to be the biggest slave trading nation in the Muddled East, these attitudes are still permeating society.

Then again, anybody applying ought to know that this is a hardship post and therefore renumerated with a generous 1070 Rial salary package.

Good luck!
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Tazz



Joined: 26 Sep 2013
Posts: 512
Location: Jakarta

PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might add that the 'slaves' get no paid time off during the year as well-1070 a month?! Strictly for the desperate or deluded. Maybe a bit of both....
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thecoolteacher



Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 6:20 pm    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing.

@Tazz- Yes, I am desperate and perhaps deluded.

Al Nawa is acting like they are going to help me.


I am putting a lot of faith in Al Nawa to take care of me, my wife and two young children.

The deal seems pretty fair.


Last edited by thecoolteacher on Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 6:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Thanks Reply with quote

thecoolteacher wrote:
Yes, I am desperate and perhaps deluded.
....

I am putting a lot of faith in Al Nawa to take care of me, my wife and two young children.

Your last statement is very telling. Please have a viable exit strategy if things don't go as planned.
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thecoolteacher



Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 6:31 pm    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

yo

Last edited by thecoolteacher on Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Thanks Reply with quote

thecoolteacher wrote:
This is a big move for us. I have only had my Master's for 1 year and I am looking for a way into the Gulf region to save some money over the next few years.

So, yes. I admit to being desperate for savings.

Oman is not the country for top salaries, especially if you have a family to support. Have you looked into KFUPM in Saudi Arabia? They tend to be family friendly.
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Whatever will be



Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 303

PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 2:52 am    Post subject: Saving money Reply with quote

It's difficult to save money in Oman but not impossible.
If one adoptd the frugality of a monk in terms of accommodation, food, transportation and entertainment, it's possible to sock away a few Rials.

Place your family in a one bedroom shack, feed them rice and water, make them walk everywhere for exercise and sit them on the beach for entertainment, which will enable you to save a few Rials.

The promises to help will keep on coming but not the actual help. Expect to be strung along indefinitely.

How are you going to Morocco if they keep your passport?

The pretext will be that they need it for your visa....your wife's visa....your children's visa....well, they know you might run away so they stop you. After all, they've been playing that game for much longer than you and know every trick there is.
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Tazz



Joined: 26 Sep 2013
Posts: 512
Location: Jakarta

PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 3:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

From recollection I can tell you that a great deal of patience will be needed regarding the process of visa + residence permits for wife and child-in part this depends on the nationality of your wife! A couple of agency hires at the MOM college I worked at were alone from September til end December cos that is how long it took TATI to arrange and process the spouse + kids documents.
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desertdawg



Joined: 14 Jun 2010
Posts: 206

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any updates?

They are advertising on Dave's.

Missed CAS Nizwa. But any recent experience? Are they getting better or are there still horror stories?

Thanks
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Siobhan 22



Joined: 13 Jul 2016
Posts: 170

PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This thread tells it all - around the time when Al Nawa won the CAS contract from Hawthorne.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=114422
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1st Sgt Welsh



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 3:59 am    Post subject: Re: Saving money Reply with quote

Whatever will be wrote:
It's difficult to save money in Oman but not impossible.
If one adoptd the frugality of a monk in terms of accommodation, food, transportation and entertainment, it's possible to sock away a few Rials.


Hmm....."It's difficult to save money in Oman....". Give me a break! If you removed the strong financial incentive from working in Oman, then I'd bet there would barely be any Westerner teachers there in the first place. I certainly wasn't there for the electrifying night life. Considering that you can easily get a job, and become basically penniless, TEFLing in highly desirable countries like Argentina or Thailand, then why, for the love of God, would anyone choose to instead TEFL in the GCC and go broke that way? I'm all for free speech, but many people read this forum to learn about what it's actually like to work and live in Oman and, I'm sorry, I personally just find such highly inaccurate comments pretty irresponsible.

In my final year of living in Oman, I was able to stash away about 25,000 USD, more or less without even trying. That included the payout for my holidays and the gratuity for two years service. When I was there I had a comfortable two bedroom fully-furnished apartment, a Jeep, I ate out all the time and went out whenever I felt like it. If others think that's not a respectable sum to save for doing effectively less than 10 months work in a pretty relaxed job then good for them. I certainly wouldn't consider it as just 'socking away a few rials'. Also it should be noted that I was working for a CAS through Hawthorn and my job wasn't even close to being the best-paying TEFL gig in the Sultanate.
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madrileno



Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Posts: 270
Location: Salalah, Oman

PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You could easily save significant money in Oman as a single person.

Married with children, though? Much more difficult, if not impossible.
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desertdawg



Joined: 14 Jun 2010
Posts: 206

PostPosted: Sat May 06, 2017 5:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anybody heard anything from Al Nawa?

I had a successful interview over a month ago and still waiting to hear and receive acceptance letter.
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