Job Discussion Forums

[daily chai]

Anyone have any updates on the Belgian job market (esp. for teaching)?

I checked the Job Information Journal under Europe and there wasn't a heading for Belgium, either. How can we start one?

Thanks--DC

[scot47]

I have been in this game for 40 years. I NEVER heard of anyone teaching EFL in Belgium !

[grahamb]

40 years in EFL? Now we know who trained Jeremy Harmer et al!

[scot47]

I have colleagues who are older than me and have been at this business for longer !

[daily chai]

Thanks anyway. I've been to Belgium a few times and English isn't as widely spoken as in the Netherlands, particularly in the French area. There must be jobs. Belgians often speak reasonable English yet it's not an official language, so somewhere they are takign classes. There's some info online (reliability untested) but I wanted to check here too.

[daily chai]

Just found this list of private English schools in Belgium:

http://internationaleflcafe.com/worldwide-english-language-schools-in-belgium.htm [/url]

[scot47]

"There must be jobs".

the labour market in EFL does not work that way. Good luck but I think you are wasting your time.

[Moore]

There probably are jobs: I�ve never not been able to find a job teaching, even in places where people swore blind (on this website) that there were no jobs - basically you have to go out and look for them: private tutoring is always going to get you work, it may take you a while to build up though, but if you�re a a personable type and don�t mind teaching all sorts of age groups you�ll be fine.

[spiral78]

I taught in Belgium for a short time.
There truly aren't many schools,but there are a few. Trouble is, pay is relatively very low. Strangely low, in fact, in comparison to Netherlands or France.

[daily chai]

Dear curious onlookers (and naysayers!),

Turns out there is so much work in Brussels I literally became afraid to answer my mobile or check my email, I was being headhunted so much. I applied to 5 schools by just sending a CV and cover letter *by email* and got 7(!) job offers. I'm now I am just a few weeks in-country and have never in my life been so showered with so much work opportunity. I am turning down hours, demanding higher salary for teaching--who knew this was in store in Belgium?
One thing that is in store--40% TAX for full-time freelancers. It's almost impossible to get a non-freelance teaching gig, so you will pay that tax unless you have a primary job of at least 20 hrs and do teaching on the side--then it's 'only' 30%. Health insurance, however, is cheap--E19/ mo at Partena, which is also the place where you get your freelance card (metro stop De Brouckere). You don't pay for either upfront, which I thought you did and waited till I had my first paycheck before going in. Thought I'd help out newbies because that took me a month and a very kind language school secretary to sort out. The big tax pays off if you want to permanently reside in BE, as it's for the pension and health care schemes.

Just to make things clear, I have the legal right to work & reside in Belgium so employers were able to hire me 'off the rack' with no special paperwork. Several told me that they couldn't hire non-EU people because of paperwork issues, so beware if that includes you. Also I have years of FT teaching experience and an MA TESOL (online--it counts here, but in Taiwan it didn't).
However, overall I was happier in Asia. That's not just the culture shock speaking either. I worked much less and still earned more, with private students *much* more (triple what I get here for them, even with EC clients). I plan to return there after paying some dues here first. NA & Downunder people are in demand in EA & SEA so keep this in mind. In Taiwan I lived in a chic neighborhood and ate out several times a week, at nice restaurants a couple times a month, and still managed biannual vacations out of country.
BE has legalized marijuana use, and perhaps also prostitution (I didn't research this) and it's about 90 minutes away from Western European capitals. The EC's presence is very noticeable--you hear all kinds of EU languages on the street like I never heard living 18 months in NL (all over, incl. A'dam). Furthermore, the luxe expat packages the diplomats get created an explosion of restaurants, theater, musems & cultural life that most teachers and normal Belgians find just out of reach, but the cheap Irish pub-type places are here to serve. The housing prices are going up too, thanks to the EC people but Brussels is caught in a symbiotic realtionship with the Commission--can't live with and can't live without 'em because of the surfeit of cash they inject into the city. It is much more affordable though than Paris or even Amsterdam, and honestly even Dutch people admit they like Brussels better than A'dam (I do too). For my apartment right in the city center I couldn't rent a flat in a small city in NL, and everything is expensive in Paris (or London). There you go--the lowdown! HTH.

[daily chai]

All three languages have shortages, and there is a national shortage of Dutch-language teachers that's so acute it's on the national news. But why, you ask? Low pay after taxes.
OTOH I know someone who worked 10yrs in BE and 20 yrs in the US. He gets roughly the same pension check from each. Of course the euro is very strong against the dollar, but still it shows you're paying into something. I'm not optimistic this situation will be there for when thirtysomethings like me retire as Europe is graying. There won't be enough workers to support a big state system for retirees, so I'm not hanging my hopes on that retirement check in 40 years.
We are going back to Asia ASAP, after completing my 2-year PhD residence!