Job Discussion Forums

advice · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 39 Location: USA

Does anybody have a suggestion how to find a public school or a college in Canada which would sponsor work permit for an ESL international teacher?

I have tried already to find one in the USA and discovered a few places which previously sponsored foreign teachers. At this moment they are not hiring but I got in touch with them, at least.

May be you heard about similar places in Canada?

I have US education + education from my home country and more than 10 years of teaching experience.

jillford64 · Joined: 15 Feb 2006 Posts: 397 Location: Sin City

What is your home country?

chan_konabe · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:20 am Post subject:

To get a temporary work permit for Canada, you'll need a job offer from an employer upon which Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) has passed a favourable Labour Market Opinion (LMO). HRSDC will only issue a favourable LMO if the employer proves that they have exhausted every available avenue in finding a Canadian with similar qualifications to fill the position. The standard proof is to have the position advertised across Canada for three months, yet still be vacant.

In my opinion, it is unlikely that a Canadian employer would be able to get a favourable LMO for an ESL teaching position due to the large number of such teachers already available to work in Canada. It might be easier on the high end of the spectrum, say professor of applied linguistics at a university, but not for a regular ESL teacher.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

The uni where I used to work in Canada wouldn't even interview anyone without at least an MA + 5 years international experience. Despite the fairly stringent criteria, all job openings were promptly filled, by Canadian citizens.

There are many, many highly qualified Canadian citizens in the ESL field.

It's really unlikely that any uni (except maybe one in some very undesirable area) would bother to sponsor a foreign teacher.

Symphany · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 117

I haven't really approached many universities or colleges for work opportunities but you may want to approach each university/college individually yourself. You may want to choose a general geographic area first (like Quebec, Ontario) or major city (like Toronto or Vancouver) and approach universities and colleges in those areas. This link is for the association of universities and colleges in Canada

www.aucc.ca

cassava · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 175

Advice:

There is no school or college in Canada which would be granted permission to hire you simply because of the fact that, as some posters have already pointed out, there are numerous qualified ESL teachers in the country.

Even if you hold a PhD and several peer-reviewed publications in some arcane field of linguistics, you would be better off applying for any posted university position along with the other candidates. If the university is interested in hiring you, they will make the necessary arrangements.