Photo by Cole Breiland
As Ontario job markets decline, international recruiters hope to draw Canadian educators
Whitney Bourgouin
With over 700 education students expected to graduate from Lakehead University’s Thunder Bay campus, this spring will see many new teachers looking for jobs.
To help with their job search, Lakehead University hosted a job fair on Friday, January 15th in the Agora. Thirty-six school boards and international recruitment agencies attended the fair.
Christina Buzzi, Lakehead’s career and co-operative education officer, explained the trends in employment, remarking that teaching jobs appear to be most in demand in areas of high population and economic growth.
Buzzi explained that while Alberta’s recent economic boom has led to an increased demand for teachers within the past few years, other areas of Canada’s west, especially Saskatchewan, are also higher in demand for teachers.
Noticeably in short demand for teachers are school boards from north-western and southern Ontario, where jobs have been in decline or stagnant over the past few years.
Additionally, northern and Aboriginal communities of Canada are also consistently in demand for teachers, largely because of the high turnover rate among teachers in the region.
Although isolation pay for employees attracts teachers to these communities, many teachers remain in the area for only a few years.
Also of note was the large amount of international recruiters. School boards from South Korea, Mexico, Scotland, to United Kingdom came to attract future educators.
Buzzi explains that Canadian teachers are in such high demand abroad because of value placed on having English teachers who are from English-speaking countries.
She also points to the U.K. as an area in high demand for Canadian teachers, both because of a low supply of teachers in the region and because U.K. schools notice strong work ethics among Canadian teachers.
Buzzi’s advice to students considering working abroad is to carefully research and consider all the aspects of the job, such as culture, salary, living accommodations, and hours of work.
She advises against making a hasty decision to accept any employment contract, and suggests talking to other teachers who have gained employment through the same international recruitment agency.
Buzzi says that ultimately, prospective teachers should keep their feet wet and stay on the hunt. While job fairs are a great start, keeping an eye out for different employers through school job listings will open more doors for future teachers.