Expert: Michael - 8/2/2010

Question
dear sir,
i hold a post graduate degree in commerce and also in education. i got my transcripts evaluated from ece on my recent visit to USA but dropped the idea of further education in field of education as my son was born at the same time. besides i have 3 years teaching experience as assistant teacher, then an year and 6 months as senior secondary teacher and a year and 6 months as lecturer in a teacher training college.
i am interested in getting a job outside India, weather in USA, CANADA or UK..Australia..etc. can you guide me through  the requirements and process.
thank you.
regards
shweta

Answer
Dear Shweta,
Thank you for your question. I can only answer about the requirements in the UK.

There are several stages you would need to go through to be entitled to teach in the United Kingdom.
Firstly, you would need to identify whether or not you would be permitted to enter and stay in the country. Our government is currently undertaking a review of immigration from outside the European Union with a view to placing an annual cap on all immigration. A temporary cap is already in place. For this reason, I advise looking at the information on the UK Border Agency website: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/

Should you obtain permission to live & work in the UK, you would need to have your existing qualifications examined and their equivalents confirmed by the National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) to confirm their validity in the UK.
http://www.naric.org.uk

Once this is complete, you would need to identify the best teaching qualification route for you. You will not be classed as a fully-qualified teacher based on your overseas qualifications alone. However, if your existing qualifications are deemed adequate, you will be classified as an Overseas-Trained Teacher. Then you would be able to apply for teaching posts, and work as an OTT for up to four years, during which time you would be required to complete the necessary training to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status in the UK. You can find out more information on this from the Training & Development Agency for Schools:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/ottp.aspx

I hope that all of this information is useful, and wish you luck with your plans.

Regards
Michael