Job Discussion Forums

[christyannemelendez]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone who is currently working in Spain had any insight to offer on how the current economic situation in Spain is impacting the ESL/EFL job market? The woman I spoke with at EBC said that the market was still thriving but I would imagine that she would say that regardless in order to bring in business.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Moore]

It hasn't affected TEFL very much: there is still a huge gap that the Spanish need to make up compared to other nationalities in terms of English and they are very aware of it.

It has affected in-company classes, but the companies who were going to get their classes cut have already had them cut. Companies now tend to pile as many students in one class as possible in order to reduce the price per capita for classes.

In terms of private classes, although some parents have cut their kids extra English classes, at the same time a lot of people who have had their free classes at work cut are turning to private teachers. Also, unemployed people who still have a bit of cash realise that the English test at their interview may well be a lot more demanding than it was a few years ago and hire private teacher to brush up: this is good news for non-EU paper holders who are finding it increasingly harder to get academy jobs (mainly due to EU subsidies for classes demanding the teachers ID papers)

Schools do seem to be starting to be getting a bit more demanding about their teachers standards in an employers market, but as they offer b*gger all in terms of non-existent year round contracts, split shifts and rubbish pay there is still a huge churning turnover of teachers here, so new positions still come up just as regularly.

The other effect is that wheras many courses used to finish at the end of July and pick up at the beginning of September, now it is much more the norm for them to finish at the end of June and not pick up until late September or mid-October, leaving teachers who've stayed on here with a two and a half month period of almost zero income.

On balance most teachers I know have not been overly affected by the crisis: Spain has always been a fairly tough place to teach for a couple of years but is very rewarding when you pull it off.

_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com/cvsender/

[the_searcher]

[Moore]

Legal workers definitely have an easier time of it: a lot of companies get EU subsidies for their classes (the "FORCEM" system), and so of course the teacher needs to have their papers in order. Non-paper holders are being increasingly pushed into the (still very lively) private classes market, leaving the in-company classes marekt open for legal workers.




_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com/cvsender/

[the_searcher]

By "papers in order", what is required beyond having EU citizenship?

I realize the above could be a hopelessly noob questions, bear with me

[Moore]

Just saying "papers in order" as nice way of saying "not illegal". Any school you work for will tell you exactly how to go about it (it's so long ago in my case it's a very distant memory!): with an EU passport you can get a social security number and a DNI: basically an ID number. With that you can work: it's a pretty easy process, just time consuming: you can work as soon as you get a job, but your school/academy will want you to get your papers sorted as soon as possible for their accounting.



_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com/cvsender/

[jonniboy]

[the_searcher]

Thanks, sounds pretty simple to get registered to teach in Spain!

Because you take your teaching contract with you to get your social security number & ID, I wondered if your ID and teaching contract are bound together - so if you lose that job, you lose your Spanish ID/right to teach? (and have to go through the process again?)

[Moore]

Once you're in, you're in: as an EU citizen, you have the right to work and medical treatment in Spain, whatever your working status.


_________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Porto and Buenos Aires... www.lingobongo.com/cvsender/