Educators in kindergartens
The younger the children, the higher the teacher’s responsibility. Therefore, in order to work as a tutor in a New Zealand kindergarten, you need to complete 3 years of Bachelor’s degree in New Zealand. If you already have a teaching education (Bachelor, Specialist, Master), then you will need to:
- Confirm your diploma with NZQA
- IELTS Academic with an assessment of at least 7.0 for each module
- To graduate in New Zealand from 1 year at Graduate Diploma level, leading to a license
The selection of programs is below:
- University of Auckland
Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) NZ$ 31 313 - University of Canterbury
Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching NZ$ 30 000 - New Zealand Tertiary College
Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) NZ$ 29 500
Teachers at Schools
Teachers in New Zealand schools are divided into: primary school teacher and secondary school teacher (senior classes).
To work as a teacher in a New Zealand school, IELTS Academic is required with grades of at least 7.0 for each module, a license and a diploma: in the first case, just a diploma of a teacher, in the second diploma of a teacher who specialises in a certain discipline.
You can confirm your diploma by sending it to NZQA and get a teacher’s license. This will allow you to look for a job as a teacher at school, but to obtain a work visa, the employer will need to prove that they have not found anyone from the local labour market, and you are optimally fit for the role. As one of the options – you could arrive to raise the level of your English through a course, and in parallel get a teacher’s license and job search.
Another option is to study during the year on the 7th degree program (qualification confirmation) or 8 level (advanced training), after which you will automatically receive a work visa for a year. Such a visa on hand in addition to the New Zealand diploma will greatly facilitate the search for work.
- Massey University
Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) – NZ$ 34 388
Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) – NZ$ 25 010 - University of Canterbury (Christchurch)
Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Primary) – NZ$ 26 000
Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Secondary) – NZ$ 25 000 - University of Waikato (Hamilton)
Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary) – NZ$ 36 860
Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) – NZ$ 36 860 - AUT (Auckland)
Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching – NZ$ 29 216 - Victoria University (Wellington)
Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) – NZ$ 33 350
Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) – NZ$ 33 350
Teachers at universities (lecturers)
To work as a teacher in a higher education institution, you will not need any special licenses or a specific IELTS score. However, there are requirements for the work of the teacher at a university, and they depend on the university you intend to work in: the university or the institute (polytechnic).
In the first case, it is necessary to have a master’s or PhD candidate’s degree in pedagogy, as well as the experience of teaching and the presence of scholarly publications.
In the case of polytechnics, it is enough to have a teacher’s diploma and experience as a teacher of a certain discipline.
In addition, university teachers are on short-term lists of popular specialties. Therefore, if you have the appropriate education and work experience, you only need to get an invitation to work in order to obtain a work visa. The employer will not need to prove that they did not find anyone among the locals.
Thus, the same options as those mentioned above are relevant: language courses or advanced training, for example, at Level 8 or 9 (Master’s).
- Toi-Ohomai
Master of Applied Professional Studies – Adult Teaching– NZ$ 29 350
Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Professional Studies (Adult Teaching) – NZ$ 20 950
Teachers of English
In New Zealand, there are a lot of language schools and institutions that require English teachers, or as they are called ESOL teachers (Teachers of English to speakers of other languages).
Of course, preference is given to native speakers, but, nevertheless, there are many foreign teachers of English. Teacher of English can work in a general school, university or in a private language school.
The basic requirements for work as an English teacher at school
To work in a general school (elementary and senior), you must have a teacher’s license and one of the following ESOL qualifications:
- Cambridge Certificate CELTA
- TESOL certificate
- Cambridge Diploma DELTA
- Diploma of an English language teacher not for native speakers (TESOL) or diploma of a second foreign language teacher
It is also necessary to be registered with the New Zealand Teachers Council and have a valid teacher certificate, which must be changed every 3 years.
The basic requirements for work as an English teacher at a higher education institution
To become an ESOL teacher in a higher education institution, it is desirable to have:
- Master’s degree in TESOL, teacher of a second foreign language or in applied linguistics
- Minimum two years of relevant work experience
The basic requirements for work as an English teacher in a private language school
To teach in a private language school, it is enough to have at least one ESOL qualification
- Cambridge Certificate CELTA
- TESOL certificate
- Cambridge Diploma DELTA
- Diploma of an English language teacher not for native speakers (TESOL) or diploma of a second foreign language teacher
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