Job Discussion Forums

Hatcher · Joined: 20 Mar 2008 Posts: 602

Is everyone leaving or is there a huge increase in demand? They ad on here once a week.

NadiaK · Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Posts: 206

This is just a guess, but it may be an increase in demand. The numbers for new intakes published in the papers a few weeks ago seemed to be pretty high.

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

This was discussed on another thread awhile back:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=63209&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

It is a mix of reasons, but it is certainly unusual to see that ad pop up every week. I know a few people who turned down offers in the spring because they weren't interested in the particular branch on offer or felt that the money was not enough with current exchange rates. It was also poor planning from over their heads and a sudden increase in students after they had all been told to cut teaching staff and thus they had made fewer offers than usual.

Forward planning has never been the strong suit of the Gulf Educational systems.

VS

metateacher · Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 12

I asked the very same question a couple of months back, especially after they had announced a hiring freeze.

There could be a couple of explanations. HCT usually has a pool of teachers who have passed screening. I guess this pool could be seriously depleted and they want to fill it up either because there is an increase in student numbers or as usual they expect a sudden increase.

Bear in mind that the package for staff is no longer as attractive as it used to be and there are better deals for teachers elsewhere in the GCC especially if you have a family. This is probably making it harder for them to get the caliber of staff they want.

yellofello · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 68

They get rid of people when you get in their face. Just surviving my second year here. I witnessed some very good teachers getting shafted
last spring. Then they faced a shortage and actually offered to rehire some of them. A big joke. The place is tuff, tuff, tuff with a lot of mean bigots at the top. Luckily most of the teachers are decent and reasonable. You need nerves of steel on some days. Some of the students are spoiled beyond belief. I am learning something new every day about how many misfits can ruin a place. If it weren't for the teachers who keep the place running, it would be like a house of cards.
A constant stream of mismanagement and bad managers. What is going on in the world of EFL management? Where do they get these idjits from? It really is amazing that so many misfits make it to the top. They are into power, betrayal, sectarianism, nepotism, and just plain bad people skills. I think the UAE is a great place to live and if I could get a transfer somewhere else, I'd stay. But they block you from moving on unless you finish your contract with them and even then you can get blocked if someone has it in for you. Lack of basic employee rights.

It's basically survival of the fittest. Just one more year. I hope I can survive this one.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject:

Lack of fore-sight! Cultural sensitivity?

NCTBA

adorabilly · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 430 Location: Ras Al Khaimah

yellofello

you paint with a very broad brush... there are 16 HCT schools.. some are bound to be crap, and some are bound to be decent.

yellofello · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 68

Too right, they're not all bad. I bummed out, that's all. I actually asked for a transfer to one of the more decent places with civilized management but it didn't happen.

Even so, how do you justify the way they disposed of so many teachers last spring? They said they were overstaffed, fired people who rubbed management the wrong way, and then found out they were shortstaffed.

It's true there are decent HCT colleges with reasonable management but tell me how many out of the 16 fit this bill. Less than 25%!!!

redsoxman · Joined: 30 Apr 2007 Posts: 51

I must be in the good 25%. I'd put the ratio at 50% - half of the colleges are OK at maangement level , but half are malfunctioning or there wouldn't be so many unhappy HCT teachers. My HCT is not so bad. My management is OK. There are a few issues and maybe one or two personality clashes with some people but they don't let that get in the way of their professionalism. I have a friend working in another Gulf country who says they have a much worse management with spying and reporting. I've also heard that about 1 or 2 of the HCT colleges but to my knowledge there is nothing like that going on in the one I work at. The people I work with are pretty friendly and helpful and I have no issues with any of them. We all keep our nose to the grindstone and do the necessary.

Working for HCT is a lot of hard work but I get most of it done on site and don't have much to take home so that leaves my weekends free most of the time (although we are on call for certain things). It really is the luck of the draw though, some people get lucky and get to work at one of the hassle-free colleges (like mine) -others get one of the 'nasty' places with nasty management types. The transfer business is a sore point - management doesn't like transfers because they are afraid of people saying things about them. But at least one teacher from my place got an approved transfer so there must be some clemency.

redeyes · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254

Yellofello and Redsox, I just PM'd you off board -- hope that's ok, and I appreciate your responses on these posts.

R.E.