Schools beat skills shortages by recruiting bright sparks offshore
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With the worst teacher shortage in 15 years, schools are having to rethink how they staff their classrooms. One option is to import teachers.
Irishman Níall Bourke went to the New Zealand Opportunities Expo in London in 2006 and is now teaching English at Sacred Heart College in the Auckland suburb of Glendowie.
He said the Expo helped him with everything from circulating his CV to opening a New Zealand bank account.
A week after the Expo, Bourke had several job offers from New Zealand schools. Weighing up the various offers, Bourke made his decision - based on rugby, of course.
"Sacred Heart is quite into rugby which is good because I have an interest in rugby."
But he admits that timing was also a factor. "Some of the other schools wanted an earlier start which didn't suit me."
Since arriving on a three-year working visa in November, the Irishman seems to have adjusted to life in New Zealand. He had spent some time teaching in London but prefers it down here.
"I'd been in London for two years and I didn't particularly dislike it but I just thought it was time for a change. I was hoping that I could get in with a good school and maybe have a more relaxed kind of life."
The 26-year-old is not used to having parks with free access to running tracks and likes his new lifestyle.
"It's more active here. I'm cycling to work and playing rugby."
Sacred Heart College is a decile eight school for year 9 to year 13 students and Bourke says they treat him well.
"The kids are better behaved and the school seems to be better run. When you ask the kids to do something, they'll do it without arguing with you. If you ask them to be quiet, they'll sit down and be quiet."
The strong Irish accent might also give him an upper hand when it comes to demanding authority.
But Bourke is contented enough that he's bringing down his girlfriend, who is working as a teacher in London.
Like most skilled people, teachers are in short supply worldwide. But when New Zealand head-hunters go looking for teachers in London, Bourke says it's not a big deal.
"They're not concerned about people leaving to teach elsewhere. I think they're more concerned with getting enough well-trained teachers through university," he says.
Working In organises the Expo with Teach New Zealand and Oasis Education. Working In co-founder Scott Mathieson said a larger venue in London was required in April 2008.
"Last year, we had difficulty coping with more than 5000 people a day so we upgraded our London venue to the Olympia Exhibition Centre to handle 10,000 visitors," Mathieson says.
The expo hosts four two-day recruitment drives in Leeds and London. More than 100 New Zealand businesses participate, including organisations from the engineering, energy, mining, health and local government sectors.
Mathieson says an increasing number of people are interested in employment possibilities in New Zealand.
"We've also seen website traffic grow exponentially to almost 90,000 visitors a month as increasing numbers of skilled British workers look to New Zealand for lifestyle changes and job opportunities."
But Mathieson says Working In also specialises in bringing Kiwis home to New Zealand.
Teachers are not their only priority. Mathieson says they work directly with immigration to identify skills shortages and seek recruits to fill various gaps.
"We work with some of New Zealand's largest companies and our relationship with Immigration New Zealand means we can quickly bring in skilled migrants to plug critical skill and knowledge gaps here."
Consequently, Mathieson says, the UK expos attract the right type of candidates for New Zealand employers.
"All potential recruits at our events have paid to come to the Expo and are committed to moving to New Zealand. They are highly qualified candidates who want to come here and have the experience that New Zealand needs."
He believes immigration holds the key to addressing our many skill shortages.
"We have appreciable and growing gaps in our knowledge and skills in New Zealand but our experience at Working In is that there is no shortage of skilled people wanting to come here and fill those gaps."
Bourke secured his teaching position at Sacred Heart College through the Expo and Oasis Education.
He says recruits need to be realistic and thorough.
"Do the research and make sure you have all the documents and all the paperwork sorted," he says.
"I'm still having a little bit of trouble with the salary assessment unit accepting my work experience from the UK."
Since sending original documents between the UK and New Zealand can take a while, Bourke says make sure you have all your papers together.
"At the minute, I'm getting paid as a new qualified teacher but with no experience, whereas I should be getting paid in my fourth year of teaching," he says.
"The two surprises for me would just be paperwork and maybe the price of stuff in terms of the percentage of your pay.
"Rent is probably cheaper but food is a bit higher."
Even with the continual rise in global food prices since Bourke arrived, he still says everyday staple items seem expensive.
"Maybe it's just higher because New Zealand is perceived to be a lot cheaper than it actually is," he says.
"That's probably not New Zealand's fault. Maybe it's just a conception that some people have."
But Bourke's impression of New Zealand overall is still quite good.
"I'm definitely happy here. I'm happy with the school so it's all good." And if his girlfriend makes it here next year, New Zealand can add one more teacher to its ranks.
Contact David Maida at: www.davidmaida.com
