Insight Into Finding Teaching Positions Through An Agency
Breaking into the teaching profession can be difficult and especially if you are new to othe country and need to start work as soon as possible. Most will struggle to find openings available in schools and may even not know where to start when looking for their first role as a teacher in the UK.
We got some inside tips and advice from the team at Impact Teachers who help budding teachers find work in the UK as well as across the globe.
As a recruiter, what methods do you use for promoting the available teaching position to the right candidates? Are the various social media platforms a means of you approaching people?
Every candidate is different and each search for jobs in their own way. Our aim is to ensure that as many candidates can see a teaching position that may be of interest to them. We do not focus on one channel of communication, we do find that some platforms perform better than others for promoting available teaching positions but we have adopted an integrated approach where we will promote across a variety of media to ensure the role is getting the exposure it requires to attract the strongest candidates.
We do use social media to approach our teachers and from time to time we will post any ‘hot jobs’ that are available on social media. As well as these digital methods we also attend career fairs at universities to meet new teachers and let them know all about the roles we have available and what we offer to help them kick start their teaching career.
We have found recently that one of our most popular promotions amongst our teachers overseas and in the UK is the Referral Scheme, teachers need to refer a friend to earn £200!
If someone was just starting to consider teaching in the UK what advice would you give them?
Most of our consultants were teachers first who themselves have moved to the UK from overseas. This enables them to easily relate to teachers going through this rather daunting process. With that said we advise that teachers do their research to ensure this move is right for them.
Teachers should look into the UK curriculum and OFSTED to help better prepare themselves for the challenge of teaching in the UK, our consultants will of course help with this, but the more you know the easier the transition will be.
Most of all we recommend that you come to the UK with an open mind so you can embrace the cultural differences and challenge yourself to engage in new things!
What range of skill set do your have database of teachers hold? Are there any particular criteria the teachers need to meet to join your list?
The only formal criteria our applicants need to be added onto our database are: to able to qualify for a VISA to work in the UK and to hold the relevant degrees in education such as a Bachelors in Education.
We are passionate about improving the standards of education around the world, we take our teachers on overseas teacher training trips to deprived communities in India and Uganda where our teachers train local educators to raise their teaching level and improve the education levels of their students.
This is very appealing to most teachers who choose to work with Impact so we have found that the majority of our teachers are passionate about education and willing to take their teaching to the next level for the benefit of youth around the world. Even if our teachers do not want to travel to India or Uganda just by choosing to work with Impact allows us to continue to carry out these projects.
What advice would you give to someone about deciding where to live and work? Such as suggest where in the UK offers the best teaching opportunity.
We recognise that each teacher is different in their needs and wants so we offer a highly personalised tailored service to ensure our teachers are placed in the perfect role for them in a school where they can thrive.
Each teacher gets their own personal consultant who works closely with the teacher to discover where would be best for the teacher to live and work, our consultants even help out with accommodation hunting for teachers moving to the UK! We work with a large range of schools across the whole of the UK which enables us to place these teachers in the right role for them.
Do overseas teachers get recruited through Impact Teachers? If so, would they have to take any specific courses before they can work in the UK schools as teachers?
As mentioned in Q3: The only formal criteria our applicants need to be added onto our database are: to able to qualify for a VISA to work in the UK and to hold the relevant degrees in education such as a Bachelors in Education. All of this can seem quite daunting when combined with moving to a new country but our consultants are with the teacher every step of the way and will handle all of this admin work to make the process less hard work and less overwhelming.
When our teachers are in the UK we do offer our own free courses for professional development to help our teachers improve and better manage a UK classroom.
Are the teachers advised in regards to their tax at all before you started work? For example, do they know that they would be able to claim for equipment used for the classes and other things like work clothes and travel?
We make sure our teachers know they can come to us with any questions they may have. Before arriving in the UK our teachers are informed about all these matters by their personal consultant.
Do you brief new temps/teachers on advice about tax or do you recommend any companies? Would this be something you would consider in the future if we could send you some information to give out or arrange a possible referral? If yes, we can put you in touch with a client who could help.
Our pay role advisors will help candidates every step of the way when it comes to advising about tax etc.
For foreign teachers coming to the UK, would you be able to find them work before they arrive or would they have to start the process upon their arrival?
We can start the process from the moment you apply! The schools we work with are more than happy to hold Skype interviews with teachers who are overseas and planning on teaching in the UK, in some cases teachers have been offered long term roles just from these Skype interviews!
We also offer guaranteed jobs to teachers coming to the UK, this ensures teachers are not left without work when they get to the UK!
What are the most frequently asked questions by new arrivals or people looking for teaching work at Impact Teachers?
It is expected that there will be a large number of questions from new arrivals or potential Impact Teachers. We aim to answer all questions before the teacher has relocated to the UK to help make the process as straightforward as possible. Here are a few of the most frequent questions we get asked:
- How can I get involved in the Overseas Teacher Training
trips?
We run the trips four times a year to get involved all you have to do is let us know at least a couple of months before the trip! Once the teacher has been accepted on one of the trips all they have to do is cover the cost of their flights!
- How can I take advantage of your refer a friend scheme?
We do offer a £200 refer a friend scheme and to be eligible to claim the prize the friend you refer has to simply work 10 days and the cash is yours!
- Can I survive financially relying on just supply teaching?
Yes we offer a guaranteed job scheme to ensure that you will have a certain number of days teaching a week guaranteed so you will always have some form of steady income. With Impact you will not be left in the UK without work.
- Where is the best place to live?
This really depends on the individual we offer recommendations based on what they are looking for but as we have schools across the UK we often ensure our teachers are living in a place suitable for their needs. Our consultants even help with the flat hunting!
If you want to find out more about Impact Teachers visit: www.impactteachers.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/impactteachers
Twitter: www.twitter.com/impactteachers
Photo by Marília Castelli on Unsplash