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Realistic Employment in NZ

 
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jpvanderwerf2001



Joined: 02 Oct 2003
Posts: 1117
Location: New York

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:18 pm    Post subject: Realistic Employment in NZ Reply with quote

Hi all:

My wife (a Russian) and I (an American) have been mulling over the idea of immigration to New Zealand for some time. As we have two youngish children to feed, I am interested in my potential job prospects before getting too far into the process. (FYI, I have taken the immigration points calculator thing, and I scored a 145, with 100 being the threshold for applying; I think this score means I could get the working visa without a job offer up front.)

With the following qualifications/experience, does anyone in NZ think getting a full-time job would be realistic for me?
* M.Ed - ESL; BA - English;
* Eight years EFL teaching experience;
* Five years EFL/ESL management experience (Managing and Center Director) -- this is what I do now, in NY;
* I do not have a state (gov't) teaching license.

I would prefer to stay in school management, though I would be fine with teaching, if that is all that is available.

Obviously, a lot more research would go into such a move, but I'm interested in hearing about the job market "on the ground."

Thank you in advance!
Smile
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mmcmorrow



Joined: 30 Sep 2007
Posts: 143
Location: New Zealand

PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:23 am    Post subject: Realistic job prospects in NZ Reply with quote

Kia ora,

I would summarise the ELT job situation here as 'OK' - neither boom nor bust. From a world ELT point of view, the NZ market is somewhat fragile - being small and outlying. The high NZ dollar makes it a bit pricey for international students; on the other hand, the visa regime is more liberal than most Western countries. Numbers of international students have been fairly flat for a few years, though there haven't been any major closures of schools.

I would suggest you contact some of the main ELT providers yourself and get some feedback from the horse's mouth. I've put a list of Auckland schools on another posting here. It's easy enough to find them through searching online - for instance, the NZQA has a list of all tertiary education providers on its website. Have a look at the TESOLANZ website too.

There are probably about 40 - 50 EFL schools in the country, with more than half in Auckland. Apart from these, probably about 100 other tertiary colleges offer some ESOL courses alongside IT, Business, Hospitality etc. Then there are the language centres (variously named) associated with NZ's 7 unis and dozen or so polytechnics.

I would guess that more than half of the people working in ELT in NZ have come from overseas, so it's a fairly well-worn path. As in other small markets, management positions tend to be fewer, since job mobility at that level isn't particularly high.

Apart from jobs, the other main issue for migrants is housing affordability. You may want to have a look at trademe (the local equivalent of ebay) to see what's out there. In general, pay is lower than in other Western countries and the rising cost of housing has put a bit of a squeeze on ELT teachers.

good luck in any case, and keep looking into things. Big story in today's national newspaper is a sealion that took a dip in a public swimming pool in Dunedin. That sort of place.

Martin McMorrow, Massey University, Auckland, NZ
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artemisia



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 875
Location: the world

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi, it doesn't look like there’s much of an “all” in these parts...

If you’re still around, this is not what you asked, but I’d recommend looking at Australia as a possibility. It’s not an easy option either, and I think their immigration requirements are more stringent. But a population of around 24 million usually means better long term opportunities (if you can stand the heat) than one of 4.5m. ‘Seek Australia’ and ‘jobseeker.co.au’ are possible job sites. I don’t know anything about Navitas as an employer there but I know they've advertised ESL management positions from time to time. There’s thread on them here. NZ is not impossible, but I think it would involve an initial move without any real certainty.

Jobs in either country will generally state the applicant must have the legal right to work so you’d have to make a case about your eligibility if/when applying for anything. Australian govt funded education providers that offer skills training work might be a kind of transferable skill (from ESL teaching) work option to focus on. Generally this sort of work requires a Cert in Adult Education though, in addition to other qualifications. (This is similar to NZ). I don’t know how much work there really is, but this is an example: http://www.seek.com.au/job/28022814
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Tarrasque



Joined: 09 Aug 2010
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artemisia wrote:
Hi, it doesn't look like there’s much of an “all” in these parts...

If you’re still around, this is not what you asked, but I’d recommend looking at Australia as a possibility. It’s not an easy option either, and I think their immigration requirements are more stringent. But a population of around 24 million usually means better long term opportunities (if you can stand the heat) than one of 4.5m. ‘Seek Australia’ and ‘jobseeker.co.au’ are possible job sites. I don’t know anything about Navitas as an employer there but I know they've advertised ESL management positions from time to time. There’s thread on them here. NZ is not impossible, but I think it would involve an initial move without any real certainty.

Jobs in either country will generally state the applicant must have the legal right to work so you’d have to make a case about your eligibility if/when applying for anything. Australian govt funded education providers that offer skills training work might be a kind of transferable skill (from ESL teaching) work option to focus on. Generally this sort of work requires a Cert in Adult Education though, in addition to other qualifications. (This is similar to NZ). I don’t know how much work there really is, but this is an example: http://www.seek.com.au/job/28022814


I'd tend to agree with Artemisia - Australia might be a more viable option depending on the nature of the work you're after, and as Artemisia also mentioned, the population difference can present extra avenues for work.

Re: legal right to work - ESL/TESOL isn't considered on the SOL (Skilled Occupations List), but if you can find an employer in a regional area that will sponsor you (TESOL/ESL is part of the RSMS - Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), you may be in the clear. This website (https://www.acacia-au.com/rsms.php) has a bit of info about the scheme, and which postcodes (areas) are regarded as being eligible. There may well be others, but I found this one had a fair bit of stuff.

The qualifications, as Artemisia also touched on, would need to meet NEAS standards at the minimum (I think?), which information about is also readily available online. Depending on further options (like skills training), there may be different requirements.
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jpvanderwerf2001



Joined: 02 Oct 2003
Posts: 1117
Location: New York

PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for your valuable input, everyone!

Australia is a wonderful country, but I don't think it's for us (I can't stand the heat, so to speak!). Perhaps we will look closer to home and see if Canada is an option. Of course, we might just end up staying in the US, which wouldn't be the end of the world.

Cheers!
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