English Teachers

[duToits]

Hi

My wife is an English teacher and wanted to find out a few things:

1. Does she need to write the IELTS?

2. By whom do teachers get their qualifications asessed?

3. How long does this take and how much does it cost?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers

J

[kangaroo]

Hi there

1) As far as I know, EVERYONE (all main applicants) has to do IELTS - even those who have English as first language/mother tongue, even those who have conducted all their tertiary studies in English...everyone.

For immigration purposes, the general IELTS (not the academic IELTS, which is applicable to those wanting to study in Oz) is required.

2) The Skilled Occupation List shows all occupations that are accepted into Australia. Look up 'teacher' on the list to determine the relevant assessment authority. At the end of the Skilled Occupation List (SOL), all the assessment authorities are listed alphabetically.

3) Contact the relevant assessment authority to determine the cost etc. My assessment (as copywriter) took about six weeks. I believe each assessment authority has its own unique timeframes....hope yours is quick too!

Good luck and shout if you need more help!

Liza

[kangaroo]

Hi again

Judging from this post: Which IELTS test?, it seems as if your wife (as a teacher) will have to do the academic IELTS.

Liza

[W+R]

Hi there!

Teachers are definitely required to write the Academic IELTS which costs about R1700.

I do not know about the skills assessment though.

W

[duToits]

Hi

Thanks for the help. I thought that she might have to do the academic test. Would I need to do the general test? In our applications she would be the primary applicant.

Cheers

J

[alsgal]

Hi J,

In our experience only the actual main applicant (hubby) had to do the IELTS. All we did was supplied proof of education in english for myself and the children and that was accepted for us.

In my opinion your wife (as the main applicant) should sit the academic IELTS test and just send in proof of education etc for all the others. It will then be up to the case officer to decide whether they are happy with what you provide or still want you to do the test as well.

If the case officer decides that you need the IELTS you will more than likely only need the general test.

Good luck with it all - it's a hard long process but worth it all.

Cheers,

Paula

[The Parsons Family]

Hi

1. You need to do the Academic IELTS

2. Teaching Australia – Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership

(02) 6125 9024

www.teachingaustralia.edu.au

3. They say they reserve the right to take 10 - 12 weeks. $450

You also need to have written proof of the duration of all your University/College teaching practices from the institute you studied with.

My assessmnet is on hold because WITS is giving us the run a round with the duration of teaching practice statement.

Hope this helps

Gaille

[duToits]

Hi,

Thanks for the help. I'll tell her to get the written proof from the varsity in PMB.

Does the assesment and recognition get done by the individual state that you are going to? And is this sufficient for PR application?

Cheers

J

[The Parsons Family]

Hi,

The assessment done by Teaching Australia is for your PR aplication. Once that is all done you need to contact your state education department and fill in forms and pay to become a registered teacher in that particular state.

I haven't done the paperwork for WA yet but from what I have learnt so far you need everything from your skills assessment application i.e. certificate, police clearance, statement of teaching practice and loads more.

Which state are you planning on moving to?

Cheers

Gaille

[DesV]

Have you made any decisions on where yo plan to live as different states have different rules, another problem is that often its hard to get a teaching job in capital cities but they bend over backwards if you are prepared to teach in the country, and often this can include housing or housing assistance which is a real bonus if you are starting out and country towns can be good, I lived in Kalgoorlie for the last 5 years, here is a huge expat South African comunity there, the teachers who apply for a job there get housinf at a highly reduced rate and being a mining town there are huge job opportunities at good pay. the only draw back is that the closest sea is 400km away ( Esperance) which incidently has the best beaches in Australia and thats not my opinion that is published by a country wide survey.

You should brush up on your afrikaans though if you consider Kalgoorlie. My nephew is at school there and he has more afrikaans speaking teachers than he had in his school in South Africa.

[duToits]

We are between Perth and Adelaide. I will look on the Teaching Australia website and get all the details needed.

Thanks

J

[The Parsons Family]

I have finally managed to get the application forms downloaded, I don't know whats going on with this laptop!

The Teaching Skills Assessment Application Information and the Teaching Skills Assessment Application Form are attached

These are the supporting documents required:

*your degrees, diplomas or certificates in the original language

*official transcripts of qualifications or student book mark sheets. Please submit all transcripts for each *qualification you list on your application.

*teacher registration/licensing certificate or statement from an appropriate authority of your eligibility as a teacher

*evidence of supervised teaching practice

*evidence of employment experience, from graduation to the present time

*evidence of a change of name (if relevant)

*evidence of English language ability (if you are relying on IELTS test results, you must provide the original certificate)

Please send only certified copies with your application. Please note Teaching Australia will return the original certificate of your IELTS test and this will be by ordinary mail only. No other documents will returned.

Hope this helps

Gaille

Edited January 25, 2007 by The Parsons Family

[Rison]

If you find a sponsoring School (Employer)you can go on a 457 work visa and would not have to do IELTS at all if you are heading for Adelaide, since the South Australian Teaching Board accepts the English of RSA Teachers. You can then later proceed with a permanent visa application like the RSMS. My wife did not do IELTS at all and been teaching for more than 12 months and we gained RSMS permanent visa within 6 months. The main thing is getting your skills assessment done at the the South Australia Teachers Board if you want to follow this route.

[The Parsons Family]

Most schools will not sponsor teachers and those that do are usually in rural areas, so it depends on where you want to live.

For PR you do need to have a positive IELTS and a skills assessment.

Cheers

Gaille

[Rison]

Gaille, true it is a choice.

Many prospective migrants will find that the rural communities also offer excellent teaching opportunities. The Independent Schools in rural areas often sponsor migrants because they struggle to find suitable teachers. This is a good starting point for someone that seeks to get to Australia quicker. The choice is always there to move to another area with Australian Teaching Experience under the belt. Many migrants have moved to other areas after landing.