Teaching overseas is not for the faint-hearted; especially if you have a family that you need to leave behind for extended periods of time as the vast majority of schools in the Middle East and China are only interested in you as a teacher and not interested in whether or not you have any dependents that need to be catered for. However, for the right kind of person and teacher, there is the possibility of changing your family’s life and having them with you as you begin your international teaching career. These are very unique positions and the schools here are looking for much more than jus ..read more

Here is an update on the situation with our client schools across the Middle East. The bottom line is that there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment for all of our clients; these are private schools so they are reliant on parents paying school fees and the challenge that some of them face is that parents are pushing back at paying full school fees for E-learning as opposed to face-to-face teaching – it is not viewed as ‘value for money’. Schools are also waiting on their relevant Ministry of Education to make a final decision as to whether they will go back to face-to-face teaching in Septe ..read more

This week, we’ve been treated to Tracey and Este’s story – two teachers who found an amazing friendship in a new, strange land. Both teachers are in Dubai, and have shared a few of their thoughts and experiences so far. Have you ever worked and travelled overseas? What was this first experience like? Este has not worked overseas before. I (Tracey) have worked in the Congo before, teaching. It’s a huge adjustment in terms of leaving home and leaving the familiar to go to somewhere new. It’s always challenging no matter how nice the new country may seem. What did you do for the first few days i ..read more

Basic etiquette tips for teachers in the Middle East: It’s that time of year! So many of our teachers are off to the Middle East. From the bustling cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, to beautiful Oman and Saudi, our teachers are prepped and ready for their teaching adventures to begin! Along with the excitement and possibility, is the very real issue of culture shock. The Middle East is different from South Africa in so many ways. Weather, media, hegemony, traditions – all of these things impact the experience. But different need not mean bad. Here are some useful etiquette tips for su ..read more

“Why can’t I take my family with me?” This is one of our most frequently asked questions. The simple answer is it’s not convenient for your new school. Remember: your new employer is fitting a lot of your bills. For example, they are paying for your accommodation. Accommodation is very expensive in the Middle East, so the accommodation offered by our schools is worth its weight in gold. They will not offer this highly-priced accommodation to an individual that is not teaching at their school nor can they afford to pay for accommodation for an entire family. School fees for International Schoo ..read more

The fantastic Netanye has given us a glimpse into the life of a teacher in Abu Dhabi. We can tell you about teaching until the cows come home, but there’s nothing like a first-hand account from a teacher living abroad. I have had the urge to teach in the Middle East for a little more than a year. I hate making such life-changing decisions and therefore stalled sending my information in. Once I got the guts to send my information to Nicole at SA-Recruitment, I knew there was no turning back. The process went so fast and quite smoothly with Nicole’s help and I could not imagine doing all the ad ..read more

This week, we chat to Mari about her experiences as a teacher in Abu Dhabi. What did you do for the first few days in Abu Dhabi? I arrived a little later than I should have, because my flights were delayed so I had only one day to settle in before the induction at school started to prepare us for the year. They are so helpful here. If you get here earlier, you meet the people that you share a villa with and do some fun activities with them. What was the school’s orientation program like? Did you find it helpful? It was really helpful!! I had no experience of the American Common core curriculu ..read more

This week’s China focus comes from Schalk, whom we placed in Xi’an earlier this year. He’s working at one of China’s top IB curriculum schools and having a blast. Here’s what he had to tell us: Have you ever worked/ travelled overseas? If no, what was your first day like when you arrived? I had not travelled overseas before. It was a bit of a shock arriving at the airport and finding out that nobody spoke English. The driver, who was supposed to pick me up, was also a bit late so I had no idea where to go or what to do, but in the end I made it to the hotel safely. What did you do for the firs ..read more

Great news: all of our September teachers have arrived at their various schools in the Middle East and have started their school year with a bang! Most have realised that things are very different and perhaps a little tougher than they anticipated in the land of sand. We’ve been contacted by a few of our teachers with concerns such as having a difficult class and not knowing what to do, or the school having very high expectations and teachers feeling like they can’t keep up, teachers receiving their salaries but amounts having been deducted, and little things like they were promised a kettle ..read more

This week’s inspiring tale comes from Lauren in Oman. She gives hopeful teachers some good advice, and sheds some light on cultural differences. I haven’t worked abroad before but I think I landed up in a very decent place. Work is work anywhere around the world (or so I’ve gathered speaking to other teachers who have come from various places). It’s just what you make of it. We were in a hotel for the first few days and we just toured the city and visited the three sister schools. We were looked after very well. We were a large group so each day people were arriving from all different destina ..read more