ESL Trading Programs in Australia

xiavierfreeman

Hi there, I am currently based in the UK but am interested in working abroad in Australia. I am a teacher at present and am interested to know if there are any ESL training programs in Australia. Alternatively does anyone have any experience in other similar lines of work in Australia and what may qualify me for a one year stay?

:cool:

Big_Alf

Your post is a bit confusing. Are you saying you want to go to Australia to teach ESL or train to become an ESL teacher?

Either way it seems a bit strange. If you are teaching in London then you must be a trained teacher (Bed, PGCE) in which case you really dont need to do any ESL training, especially not for a year.

As Australia is a native English speaking country, there is a very small market for ESL teachers so ithere is not a skills shortage that will get you a work visa.

http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Programs/SkillsAssess/TRA/Pages/default.aspx

Have a look here. You may have luck if you are an experienced and trained Science/Maths teacher at secondary level.

You havent provided much information though to go on. I hope you are more explicit with your students

The general consensus nowadays though is that its nigh on impossible to get a work visa for any English speaking country unless you can fill a very nice skill shortage area.

xiavierfreeman

HI BIg Alf,

Thank you for your reply. Yes I was rather vague, what I'm looking to do is spend a year working in Australia, hopefully utilising my teaching experience. I had heard that a good way to do this is to teach through an ESL facility, IE an international college.

Fortunately due to my age I am eligible for a working holiday visa for one year, obviously a longer stay will require some more innovative thinking!!

Almo

I taught ESL here (Melbourne) for 3 years, I changed industries in August last year. There used to be a very large ESL market in Australia, contrary to what most people think; the market still exists but is suffering from the economic downturn as people can no longer afford to come here to study. This is partly due to the economy in their own countries, partly due to the strong dollar, and partly (slightly) that the government has tightened things up with regard to visas for overseas students.

I still have many friends in the industry and very few schools are hiring right now. There is also a push towards ESL teacheres being not only CELTA/TESOL qualified but having a government qualification (CERTIV in Training and Assessment). I think you may be able to avoid getting this certificate if you are a qualified teacher already. You may have more luck with high school prep ESL, depending on the time of year you arrive; there is a huge drop off in numbers in Jan, when the kids transfer to their local school.

If you're coming to Australia for a holiday and would like to work along the way, I'd say give it a shot (although you won't get work in any reputable school without a CELTA/TESOL and I'm not clear on whether you have one). If you need the income to support yourself while here, I'd consider something else.

tagandrelease

I also spent a couple of years working and living in Australia. I agree with Almo that it may be best to consider another industry other than ESL if you are looking to use this as your bread and butter for travelling the continent. I personally hung up my teaching shoes for my time there and worked casually in bars, restaurants and the like. I also had to spend three months working as a fruit picker to qualify for the second year visa which turned out to be an amazing and profitable experience. In summary definately go and step outside the box, don't expect to score an ESL trading position and you never know what the place will have in store for you. PS Steer clear of the Gold Coast at this time of year as they hold whats called 'Schoolies" which involves tens of thousands of <18yo kids running riot around the place!! Good Luck...

PoorCharleyBear

xiavierfreeman wrote: »

Fortunately due to my age I am eligible for a working holiday visa for one year, obviously a longer stay will require some more innovative thinking!!

Don't be too innovative about staying- do it all officially as it will scupper your chances of a return trip/further visa. Australia have very tight border controls....I say this as an Aussie.

If you are under 30, I think a WHV is now 2 years, although this cannot be with one company, and has to include some travelling around.

Also have a look at https://www.immi.gov.au for visa requirements