International Teacher Placement Service (ITPS)

Since 1986, Education Career Services (formerly the Placement Office) at the Faculty of Education has been helping teachers to secure positions in overseas schools. The primary activity of Education Career Services in this regard is the Teachers' Overseas Recruiting Fair (TORF), held annually, usually in January, for certified, experienced teachers.

For teachers unable to attend the Recruiting Fair, Education Career Services also maintains a registry of teachers interested in international opportunities, the International Teacher Placement Service. This service operates on a year-round basis and is open to teachers with certification in North America.

Teaching Overseas

Teaching overseas can be a rewarding personal and professional experience. It is a great opportunity to enhance your professional skills and gain a new perspective of yourself and your home country and to discover new parts of the world. An experienced teacher with a good sense of humor, strong classroom management skills, clear command of his/her subject material and who genuinely enjoys teaching will find success teaching overseas.

But it is definitely not for everyone. The challenges to living and working overseas are many, including living within and learning a new culture and language and adapting to a different curriculum. Day-to-day routines and cultural barriers usually quickly erode romantic notions of far away places. There is more to teaching overseas than "teaching and travelling."

In addition, there are limitations as to who is eligible for teaching overseas. International schools usually prefer hire single, experienced teachers or teaching couples, but teachers with other circumstances are also considered.

• ITPS Eligibility

How ITPS Works

Throughout the year, overseas schools contact Education Career Services looking for appropriately qualified teachers; the positions and location of the schools vary widely each year. Appropriately qualified teachers are then referred for consideration, which may lead to a limited number of placements each year.

Due to the unpredictable nature of schools' needs, we offer no guarantee that an appropriate vacancy in your preferred location will be available. If you are committed to teaching overseas, we highly recommend that you consider attending the TORF, for the majority of overseas placements result from the Recruiting Fair.

• Teachers' Overseas Recruiting Fair

The Positions

The variety of jobs available depends on the needs of the schools; they vary from year to year in both location and positions. Although Education Career Services is in contact with schools around the world, most opportunities are with schools in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia with fewer available in Europe and Africa.

The Schools

Most of the schools that contact ITPS fall into the broad category of international schools. There are thousands of such schools in over 100 countries. The language of instruction is English, but some offer a bilingual program. Fluency in another language is not usually a job requirement. The K-12 curriculum is often based on a North American, IB, or British model, with adjustments to host country requirements as necessary. Many of the schools are accredited in the USA, Britain or Canada. For most, the academic year begins in August or September; a few schools in Latin America operate on a January-November calendar.

Students in these schools can represent as many as 60-80 nationalities or be almost entirely host country nationals depending on the setting and purpose of the school.

Salaries and benefits, cost of living, and composition of the teaching staff all vary widely. While a few schools are able to pay attractive salaries, many people teach overseas for personal and professional enrichment rather than "for the money." The best way to compare compensation is on the basis of how much you will be able to save, rather than how much you can earn.

Fees

There are no guarantees about locating an overseas position through ITPS. For this reason, there is no registration fee, but a placement fee of $100 CDN will be charged upon acceptance of a position which results from an Education Career Services referral.

Please Note

Education Career Services neither accepts nor replies to resumes that are not accompanied by an ITPS registration form.

To Register

Please request by email (listed below) an International Teacher Placement Service Registration form. The form and registration information will be sent to you by return email. Then, submit the form and necessary documents that are outlined in the instructions. (Registration for the Teachers' Overseas Recruiting Fair is a separate procedure, an ITPS registration does not apply to the TORF.)

Contact

Education Career Services
Faculty of Education
Queen's University
511 Union Street
Kingston, ON K7M 5R7
Canada

Tel: 613 533 6222
Fax: 613 533 6691
ed.careers@queensu.ca