The International Schools Review Forum

Hello everyone,
Does anyone know which province would be the easiest to transfer my US license? I also have QTS from UK. I'm originally from Serbia but have been teaching internationally for 10 years. My family is looking into immigrating to Canada so any advice is appreciated. Thanks

BC (British Columbia). High recognition and they will accept applicants who dont have immigration status and dont require an employment sponsor.

Here's a tip. Whichever province you go to ask the College of Teachers in that province for the document the schools you worked out can fill stating you time teaching there. I'd get going on that asap. You can have those years credited to raise you on the pay grid. I did that and it made a difference of $34,000 a year in my salary. I couldn't believe it. :)

Here's another tip. If you are not a landed immigrant, most Canadian schools won't touch you as they have to prove that they could not find a qualified Canadian candidate. Also, the more expensive you are without any experience teaching in the province, the less likely it is to get a job, especially in desirable locations such as the Okanagan or the Greater Vancouver/Vancouver Island districts.

PsyGuy wrote:
> BC (British Columbia). High recognition and they will accept applicants who
> dont have immigration status and dont require an employment sponsor.
Thanks PsyGuy! Very helpful as always! Do you know anything about other provinces? What about Ontario? I looked on the website and the process seems quite daunting for BC!

shadowjack wrote:
> Here's another tip. If you are not a landed immigrant, most Canadian
> schools won't touch you as they have to prove that they could not find a
> qualified Canadian candidate. Also, the more expensive you are without any
> experience teaching in the province, the less likely it is to get a job,
> especially in desirable locations such as the Okanagan or the Greater
> Vancouver/Vancouver Island districts.
Thanks for the tip! We are exploring our options and not very picky about the location. Im aware that I cant expect to land a job in a big city...

@NatashaM

Canada in general is rather daunting. For many of the provinces that ITs want to go to their LEAs regulating authority wont consider an application without an employment offer. Applying for a BC credential shows employers another province has already reviewed and approved your teaching qualification and has credentialed you to teach. So you use that BC credential on your resume as a selling point to other provinces DSs.

PsyGuy wrote:
> @NatashaM
>
> Canada in general is rather daunting. For many of the provinces that ITs
> want to go to their LEAs regulating authority wont consider an application
> without an employment offer. Applying for a BC credential shows employers
> another province has already reviewed and approved your teaching
> qualification and has credentialed you to teach. So you use that BC
> credential on your resume as a selling point to other provinces DSs.
Got it. thanks again

Except other provinces won't care if you are not a landed immigrant with legal authority to work in Canada.

Thats not absolutely true @SJ, there are more than zero, non-landed immigrants who require sponsorship that are recruited and hired.

PsyGuy wrote:
> Thats not absolutely true @SJ, there are more than zero, non-landed immigrants who
> require sponsorship that are recruited and hired.
That's reassuring... thanks

@PG - as a BC Certified teacher with friends in multiple leadership roles through the system in various districts, the odds of hiring a non-landed immigrant teacher simply based on whether they have a BC teaching certificate when there is an oversupply of teachers are slim to none. I guess some people DO win the lottery, thus your "more than zero". As a percentage of teachers in BC, it is closer to zero than to 1, in percentage terms.

That said, Natasha, applying for hardship posts in Northern Ontario, if you can get Ontario certification, or Nunavut or fly in NWT, might be easier as a way to get into Canada and work in education.

Agree with Shadowjack, closer to zero than one. Probably closer to zero than point 1.

I saw this before I closed down my Search account
https://www.searchassociates.com/school ... or-canada/

Also look at http://www.educationcanada.com & http://www.applytoteach.com.

Having gone through the process of converting a UK 3 year degree to a Canadian 4 year degree and then doing my B.Ed. in BC, knowing that I'd have to be incredibly lucky to get even a subbing job ( fortunately I was one of the chosen few), I would not advise anyone to do the same, unless your plan is to teach overseas. And I was a permanent resident as the time.

@NatashaM

I dont greatly disagree with @SJs (or @Helen Back) most recent contribution. Its more than zero, there are non-immigrant ITs who get jobs in desirable locations, and among them, ITs that were successful who had already obtained a BC credential but its a very, very small number (likely so small you could be chasing artifact) and the BC credential may have contributed very little utility in that decision. The BC credential is worth something, its not worth nothing, but its not a golden ticket or an 'in' by any means or definition, but it adds something for a very select and small group of ITs.

If I was told I had to go through an elongated and lengthy process (two years in my case) to get a BC teaching certificate and at the end of it I would get to roll a hundred sided dice and I only get a job (any job, including subbing) if I roll a 1, I'd probably give it a miss. Actually, that's pretty much what I did, and I got the sub job. But i was a permanent resident at that point. If you don't have residency the dice is 10,000 sided and probably more. Now, if I was a betting man..........