Job Discussion Forums

[Hounds]

Hi,

I'm moving to Taiwan in mid-August. I'm qualified to work in their public school system. I'm currently working with Footprints Recruiting, but there is a very good possibility that I will not be able to secure a postion in my top desired location of Taichung through them.

Is it possible to contact the Taiwan MOE directly? They handle all of the hires within the public school system, correct?

I found a very cool wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Taichung) that lists all of the schools in Taichung, but I'm still unsure of how the hiring process works for schools that are funded by the government.

[archon121176]

Hi Hounds,

I worked with the Taiwan (ROC) MOE for two years. Any programme they have for recruiting foreign English teachers means that they choose which County you go for the first year. Not all schools in a County participate in the MOE programme, and your placement is based on which Principal lobbies hard enough. If you renew for the second and subsequent years, you can choose which County you want to go to, if not the specific school.

It's really not a bad system, Hounds. If you don't like your situation in year 1, you can always switch to a "better" location. I'd say go ahead to Taiwan!

[Glen Denton]

Unfortunately, Taichung is still controlled by organized crime and run on corruption.
To the best of my knowledge, all native English speakers in public schools in Taichung, are hired through third party agencies. Some are asked by their current employers to teach in public schools. Others are hired through some of the most disreputable recruiters on the island (IACC) to teach in public schools. My coworker a few years ago was contracted through Wego School in Taichung to teach in Wen Hua the biggest high school in Taichung City. None of the teachers hired to teach at the biggest public school in Taichung had any ARC's for the the first six months then were given ARC's through a non existent cram school used as a front for labor brokers to issue fraudulent ARC's. A very common practice here in Taichung and one that has gotten more than one teacher deported because of ignorance. Wego lost the contract after just such an incident and I think Shin Min High School now takes care of supplying teachers there.
Taichung is great and the clubs have a lot to offer. Sadly teaching in public schools in Taichung is more trouble than it is worth.
If a school or recruiter claims to be able to get you a job in a public school in Taichung, then it is one you might want to avoid.
I have found that the best jobs are often with little bushi bans run by teachers and parents. They pay far better than the big schools and are willing to work with you, not against you.

[Hounds]

Thanks for the replies.

And yah, Archon, I hear ya about transferring, but I'm really not interested in living outside of an urban area. I'm pretty much dead set on living within a minimum of 15 minutes from Taipei or Taichung City. I've been living in rural US for the past three years and am keen on having access to a metropolitan area again. Who knows? The Footprints position may work out, but if it doesn't, hopefully I'll be able to get a job at a private school. In the worst case scenario, I'll suck it up and work for a good cram school for a year and get a job in a middle or high school for the 2009 school year. It should be much easier once I'm in country.

I've read some of your other posts, Glen. I actually plan on looking into Future Heir as a potential employer depending on a variety of factors. Other than what you posted in the other thread, your experience there was ok, right? Even if they are run by organized crime, they seem to have a really progressive approach to language education...