Job Discussion Forums

AnneCO · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 53 Location: US

Redcar,

I remember your posts. I really appreciate hearing about what happens when an expatriate refuses to give up there passport. There has been a lot of discussion about this with the old-timers saying it really can't be done and others insisting that by international law the employers have no right to take it.

Well SA certainly isn't Kansas is it. Perhaps it's called the magic kingdom because as you enter this territory - poof - international law and basic logic disappears.

From what you say you got a free trip in and out of the country and a great albeit common story. Also it sounds like the women who went ahead with the jobs offered through this recruiter were royally sc&^%!ed.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

AnneCO · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 53 Location: US

Yep, it does indeed sound like an . . . er . . . magical place where the normal laws do not apply.

Speaking of laws, rules and regulations I meant "their passport" not "there passport". Irk - just the kind of mistake one loves to make on a forum of English teachers!! Rolling Eyes

So Redcar did you get sent back to the US? It must have been scary but as things turned out with that recruiter and PNU perhaps better.

So let's organize a cadre of English Teachers to accept jobs, refuse to give up passports and get deported. Hey there are a lot of unemployed around and if the recruitment folks are paying for the ticket . . .

Sadebugo · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 524

Saudi British Centre . . . I first heard this name in 2005 when I was working for Raytheon/SALTS in Taif. One day, the staff was told that the Saudi ADF was bringing in reps from this company in order to observe our operations and assess what we could do to improve. Sure enough, some Arab men (non-Saudi) came to our classrooms and observed our teaching. We never heard what the results of the 'inspection' were but some of us got job offers from SBC within the next few weeks. Apparently, this company had a 'friend' in the ADF and hoped to win the contract after giving SALTs personnel a negative review. They also hoped to raid our staff and keep us in place once they did win it. Ultimately though, SALTs must have also had friends in the ADF and SBC's plan failed.

For the record, the offer was insultingly low.

Sadebugo

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

The US Embassy probably got DC to threaten to nuke the urecruiters ! Come on Embassies do not intervene in labour disputes !

AnneCO · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 53 Location: US

What is the ADC?

Grendal · Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 11:04 pm Post subject:

1chunk · Joined: 05 Aug 2014 Posts: 123

Four years on and this backstreet shoddy contractor is the new contractor at the 'prestigious' King Saud University...

plumpy nut · Joined: 12 Mar 2011 Posts: 1652

Many new EFL'ers are going to be hit with the increasing Saudi demands for higher credentials simply to get the now very low paying jobs. They will only pay so much and will try to get the most in what they consider to be standards. Saudi Arabia is in tune with the future for TEFL through out Asia. Westerners keep going in to teaching TEFL in spite of the appalling salaries and the crap now being handed out. It's amazing really in spite of it now becoming a bad career choice. If the Native English Teachers stop coming, the TEFL industry is simply geared to start welcoming Filipinos, Indians and the likes. The market economy geared towards Westerners in TEFL is going to end soon.

Lord T · Joined: 07 Jul 2015 Posts: 285

Al-Ikwan · Joined: 07 Jun 2016 Posts: 18

From my experience of SBC, I didn't find them to be very professional. I went to the job fair in Birmingham UK and the SBC rep was very unprofessional. During my so called 'interview' he kept on stopping me and speaking to others passing by.

I was then offered the role but waited to see if KSU would make an offer and the kindly declined SBC. (of course the package was not as good as KSUs either)

plumpy nut · Joined: 12 Mar 2011 Posts: 1652

The Saudi British Centre is now hiring for a pre-university PYP program. The same low wages now becoming more and more commonly offered to Western teachers, the same haughty demands for degrees they feel are fitting of a Saudi academy or school. It mirrors the kind of astounding, desperately "becoming more and more unrealistic" behavior found in governments and dictatorships, and in this particular case programs, that are on the brink.

clapdemcheeks · Joined: 28 Nov 2015 Posts: 16 Location: UK

plumpy nut · Joined: 12 Mar 2011 Posts: 1652

The Arabs are special you know. At least they like to think they are. I was taught that there are 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing. But who knows? Next time be a little bit more on top of it clapdemcheecks and you might actually land a job with SBC.