Job Discussion Forums

[JRJohn]

A penny for your thoughts. How will brexit affect opportunities for ESL teachers in Spain? I know that this forum has gone a bit quiet and inactive recently, and so I expect to wait a while for a reply. Therefore, I will also be posting a message on the general Europe Forum, where it is sure to get replies.
First of all, I am gutted about Brexit. I liked the idea of being in the EU, preserving our national identities, but having a common market and a free movement of people, as well as certain worker's rights being guaranteed. That opened up new extensive horizons to me as a young adult. I became fluent in French and Spanish, which was a great help.
One thing I did was teach in Spain. I am not sure I would advise teaching in Spain as a career path, because many academias aren't serious schools, and/or see us as very much a disposable item. Hours can be cut back when you most need them. Jobs can be lost fast.However, teaching in Madrid allowed me to get a sense of what life was like in the Spanish capital. I made many, many friends. My Spanish got even better, and I had a lot of fun, especially at night!
The consensus was, in 2001, that as an EU citizen, I had the right to come and go at will. Employers did not need to get an expensive Permiso de trabajo. And I could in principle get a contract, and at least some social security coverage. Americans, Canadians, and so on, were in an entirely different situation. Even if an employer wanted to hire them legally, getting an TEFL type job legally was out of the question. So, teachers had to leave Spain every 3 months, get a stamp in their passport, and then come back. That was the case till 2009.
Now, Americans have to leave the country after 3 months, and NOT return for another 3 months! As I am sure you can see, that renders teaching impossible. Most employers will want American teachers' papers to be en regla.
Now that Brexit is happening, will the EU make an example of us and treat us in the same way? There is still a big demand for native speakers/ English teachers in Spain. But if we get treated like the Americans, teaching there will be impossible, at least under normal circumstances.
What do you think? Will we be treated as Americans i.e. outside the EU and unable to teach?
The only exception would be those part time classroom assistants, who are allowed to come on a student visa. That's the only way Americans can teach in Spain. But there can be problems with late payment of salary, organisational issues, and the salary is less than 1000 euros per month! To qualify for the programme you must be under 30.
What do you think will happen to the English teaching industry in Spain, once we are out of he EU? I would be delighted to read your replies. Thank you.

[Spelunker]

I am in Spain,from the UK, and have been applying for various positions, and getting nothing back. This was before the brexit result. Now after it I fear there will be less chances, they will just employ younger americans, with cash "under the table", oooppps, just reread your post, perhaps not then! A lot of it could be due to tit for tat retaliation, IE, your country voted out of the EU, we won't hire you if you are a brit

[spiral78]

Spelunker, you've been trying to apply in the worst time of year, probably.

Contracts are usually Sept/Oct thru June and the biggest hiring bump is September-ish. April/May/June is the end bits of regular contracts and now everyone's gearing up for summer hols. You're likely to have better luck in a couple of months.

[Spelunker]

But more or less ready to give up after tomorrow morning. No help from the social in spain either....Spaniards get 400 EUR a month, as do those with residency presumably!

It's a rich man's playground/retirement place, not a place for a poor EFL teacher, but that is just me.

[jonniboy]

May through August is by far and away the worst time to apply for any job in Spain, including English teaching. Very slim pickings and summer camp gigs usually go to teachers already there or those from abroad who have applied well in advance.

As for the effect on English teachers, the evil and selfish part of me does imagine the day when all the English and Welsh teachers have to get visas and Irish passport holders like me waltz into these wonderful better paying gigs there. In terms of likelihood, the dream is on a par with Ireland winning the world cup, Valencia winning La Liga next season, me winning the Euromillions.... it usually ends with me waking up and smelling the coffee.

Don't expect much change, if any. I fully expect them to agree an EEA-style deal, keeping free movement. Not only is that more politically palatable to remain voters and business, it also avoids problems for all the Brits currently in Spain.

[Spelunker]

[JRJohn]

Jenniboy, the thought of the Republic of Ireland (and maybe Scotland-Failte gu Alba) being in the EU with England excluded completely, does have its attractions. But for that to happen, England will have to say that control of borders, and excluding migrants are more important than the single market, and be stubborn about it.
My fear is that the English teaching game (which at times seems like a racket), in Spain will go downhill. Why? It will go downhill if the Eurosceptics and UKIP people get their way. Excluding migrants would mean excluding Spanish people from working in the UK. And this would kill a MAJOR incentive for Spanish people learning English. Another thing is that they could just expand the program of young teachers assisting at state schools for say 800 euros a moonth. It is quite likely, though that things will stay more or less as hey are at the moment, which is not so good.
That makes me sigh! I so wish I could go back to the past, when there were jobs in Spain outside of teaching. After all, I speak Spanish fluently! I still hanker after the good old 1990s. It was possible to get a job in the Costas, in a bar, or even working in real estate. Friends had invited me to come and live with them and look for work.
I chose to teach English in Madrid. I love Madrid, or at least I love the cheaper, more casual Madrid of a few years ago. But even then, the whole business of ESL seemed too casual and fly by night.
Spain was right to join the EU, but joining the Euro killed a lot of non-teaching work.