Job Discussion Forums

[texastmblwd69]

Has anyone heard of program by the Kazakh government called KAZ DIDATIK? They have a help wanted posting on Dave's which seems pretty interesting, but I wonder where exactly it's located in Kazakhstan. In addition, if anyone knows, well, ANYTHING about KAZ DIDATIK, please let me know asap!

Thanks a Million!

[basiltherat]

I 'google'd it and nowt came up except the ads on dave's. If it is indeed Gov backed, it wud surely have more results.

Consequently, I have my reservations about this, personally.

Still, no harm in contacting them with a brief CV.

best
Basil

[maruss]

Despite their oil wealth and the presence of western companies etc. corruption is worse than in Russia and this applies to work contracts too which are often not worth the paper they are written on!Never presume anything or ignore your instincts and if possible try to find a job with a foreign firm that will interview you abroad first-and at which you will also have the opportunity to ask lots of questions before agreeing to anything!

[the dakota kid]

edited

[maruss]

Because quite frankly the place is monotonous and boring and really a bit of a dump!Alamaty.the former capital, is a much nicer city,not just because the Tien Shan mountains are nearby,but also because it has historical interest while Astana was built very recently and has little of interest at all.

[slaqdog]

I live and work in Kazakhstan-in Atyrau the oil and gas capital. Astana is an interesting place to visit and the teacher our company has working there likes it-a Las Vegas style of a city I have heard it described as. Sorry i am rambling-I have not been able to find out any information about this subject so it does seem a little strange. It may be legit as the Government want to improve English language skills but without more information not easy to say.
Kazakhstan worse for corruption than Russia? I don't know about that.
Having visited Almaty and Aktau i can say its a great place to visit but do pack some patience and a good sense of humour!

[TOMMY-GUNN]

Just to keep this old thread running in case anyone is interested, i received a contract after making enquiires from an advertisement from this same state sponsored programme (KAZDIDAKTIK).

Now i don't want to categorically say that it's not legitimate but based on my intuition of job applications and communications with the outfit that i liased with, warning bells were ringing. I'll give you some facts - you can all draw your own conclusions

Firstly, on the job site i spotted, in the space of a few weeks the advertised salary fluctuated between 3000 dollars a month then 2500 and a few days later, down to 2000 dollars. Not overly bizarre perhaps but certainly doesn't project a professional outfit at best.

Secondly, they replied to my initial enquiry with an over-zealous interest; again, nothing unusual about that in itself (i have credentials and alot to offer.... ahem, sorry for the modesty!) except i didn't tell them much about me before the point of them sending me contracts and pursuing my interest.

Thirdly, they were quick to communicate but correspondence only consisted of a few lines each time; on the lines of: 'send me your CV', send me your documents', 'send me your passport' or 'do you want to sign this contract?' (i appreciate that English could be limited but.....)

Fourthly, (yes there's more! ), the contract sent was a 'simple' document in the sense that it had no stamps/logo's etc what so-ever and seemed a little scratchy in its formatting. The content too is worth a mention - a few points to watch out for, whether this oufit was legit or not.

Next, the senders email address was a named person, swhose name was different to the person writing; i'm also fairly knowledgable about some aspects Kazakhstan (or Russian) and the name(s) were not of any familiar local names, which might be strange considering the work is for a Kazakh state sponsored programme.

Lastly , they gave me a stronger message to say on the lines of, 'are you going to sign?' when i expressed a need to think about the contract for a few days and requested to see a website if possible. This culminated in the next and last reply a day or two after informing that the post was now filled. C'est la vie!

Each thing in itself may not seem bizarre but collectively, well, you draw your own conclusions - i actually more or less drew mine on the first point but showed minor interest without to see where this was going! but just keep your wits about you and don't let scammers (and i'm not suggesting yet that this lot are) intrude too much into our industry (seems some aspect will always be in existence). Good luck

[vivianne]

A very good friend of mine has been teaching in eastern Kazakhstan at a public high school officially on a contract with the Kazakhstan Dept of Education since the end of January 09. She was recruited by a company out of Denver, CO, USA and was placed with another American teacher to teach at the other high school in town. That organization has told them that they are the first teachers to work for the Kazakh government in their public schools and are part of a pilot program to build relationships in order to create/improve the program. My friend's goal is to work as a recruiter for the sending organization, and they asked her to do the program first.

However, after one month she has received no pay (and neither has anyone else according to the sending organization), ostensibly because their visas are not "working" visas. She just informed me this week that her title has been changed to "free consultant" and she has cut the hours that she volunteers at the high school to a quarter of what it was when she was working. Her housing and food are at a hotel being paid for by the organization out of Denver. She has to repay them about $700/month, which she planned to do with her wages. She is supposed to be there until the end of June, although her current visa extension expires in March. Currently, she still believes the situation will improve, and they will be paid--perhaps in April.

[slaqdog]

This sounds very strange-if the Department of Education cannot obtain working visas-would be interested to find out more. Things move slowly in Kazakhstan and a lot of the time it is about talking to the right people; surely the agency who arranged this have a responsibility towards people they send half way around the world. Paying accommodation back to the agency? What type of contract was signed?

[maruss]

It is very hard for people like us who have been accustomed to western standards and rules of what is considered as acceptable,to understand how such countries as Kazakhstan operate......There are probably millions of so-called 'rules and regulations' over there which it would be virtually impossible for anyone to follow!!So instead,it's often a free for all,and people apply them arbitrarily,depending on what suits them and according to how much power they have!At the end of the day,all you can do is to either go along with it for as long as it suits you or quit when it gets on top of you!That's it,in a nutshell.

[slaqdog]

I cannot agree with the description of Kazakhstan as being a free for all-a good employer has a working relationship with authorities and the majority of paper work is carried out according to extant rules and regulations.
It's also a little hard to take when cases of rampant corruption and fraud spilldaily out of the so called corruption free developed world. Western companies are deeply involved in this country and their record as regards to corruption means that we cannot throw stones because we do live in glass houses.
A decent company-and yes they do exist-will sort out viasa and work permits.
The case described above is very dodgy-and the blame seems to originate with the shady agency who set this person up-and that agency if you can dignify it with that name, is a US operation.

[maruss]

Middle-men are often at an advantage because they take from both sides without giving anything to anyone!

[ddraig64]

It looks like this is a trade school. Everything from welding to computers. It is in Almaty according to the site.