International schools in China are in great need for good, qualified teaching professionals
According to statistics from the International School Consultancy Research, a UK-based company that provides data on the international school market, there has been enormous growth in the number of international schools in China. In 2011, 274 international schools were teaching 108,700 students with 11,200 teachers. The number of international schools grew to 545 with 212,900 students and 20,600 teachers in 2016. As the number of international schools in China rises, so does their need for foreign teachers, but the continued shortage of foreign teachers poses a significant challenge. Global Times
KIM’S NOTE Universities with teaching graduates who are struggling to obtain good employment might consider helping to place graduates with international schools in China. It’s an adventure, living conditions are improving, the teaching environment can be rewarding, and salaries are increasingly competitive. If a university is undertaking this kind of placement, it would make huge sense to prepare its graduating teachers to be brand ambassadors into those schools.
Beyond that, the rise of international schools in China offers Chinese nationals with a foreign degree an option to work as a teacher at a pay rate that significantly exceeds their peers in the public school system. This creates a rationale for foreign study for Chinese students with a passion for teaching who want to ultimately return to China.
A parallel situation can be found in healthcare and nursing. Chinese nurses and doctors within the public sector are notoriously poorly paid and the cost of studying those subjects abroad cannot be justified by local salaries if the student plans to return home. However, the emergence of private hospitals which pay serious premiums for bilingual, foreign trained staff has opened up the employment options for students who want to pursue a healthcare-related degree abroad and ultimately return to China.
