Every year the recruitment landscape for international education changes just a little.
This has certainly been the case over the last two years.
The reality is, the global pandemic created a challenge for almost every stage of recruitment.
Border and school closures, vaccine regulations, and the cancellation of in-person events required all parties to reconsider the future of the school year.
As we continue to collectively move forward with general uncertainty, there are a lot of questions around the willingness to teach abroad, compensation, and what is considered appealing to international teachers in 2022.
The 2022 International Education Recruitment Report digs into the biggest questions around teacher compensation and recruitment, providing you with thoughtful analysis and insight. This information is here to act as a guide for your teacher recruitment and retention strategies.
For instance, what makes the perfect compensation plan to ensure your school retains top teaching talent?
The report surveyed over 4,000 current and prospective international teachers back in December 2021. You can download the report for full details here.
Let’s dive into the four key questions:
- Is your teacher compensation plan competitive for today’s market?
- Do teachers still want to teach abroad?
- How to reach and hire a new generation of candidates.
- How to appeal to international teaching candidates.
1. Is your teacher compensation plan competitive for today’s market?
According to more than half of the teachers we surveyed, expectations around compensation have changed as a result of COVID-19.
So, how do you make a compensation package attractive?
You can start by benchmarking against other schools to ensure your compensation package is competitive and attracts the best teachers to your school.
However, compensation goes far beyond the salary.
The Great Resignation has become a new buzzword we’re all familiar with now as many people are rethinking their relationship with employment. People are evaluating how valued they feel as employees. Many wonder if the benefits measure up to their expectations.
Teachers are no exception and luckily some schools are recognizing these needs.
In addition to professional development opportunities and wellness allowances, more schools are offering teachers health insurance, gym memberships, courses, invites to social events, and so much more beyond salary and accommodation.
When benchmarking for salary and benefits, research what will attract and be of value for your prospective teachers.
2. Do teachers still want to teach abroad?
Yes! The desire to teach abroad in 2022 remains, especially in Europe and Asia.
But, naturally, teachers shared their concerns about teaching abroad. Specifically, 21% of teachers voted for job security as the top reservation for teaching abroad.
Due to job insecurity, people have experienced financial anxiety and deep concern about COVID-19’s impacts. Nearly 49% of Americans reported that the pandemic is a major threat to their finances.
Other feedback and concerns included struggling to adapt to a new country (15%), cultural differences (17%), and language barriers (18%). That is why it’s so important that schools set new hires up for success with an unbeatable onboarding process.
Addressing teachers’ top concerns can make a large difference to your school’s teacher retention rate and success.
3. How to reach and hire a new generation of candidates
Today’s teaching candidates are composed of Gen Z, the first generation to have grown up in the Digital Age.
And so, the pace at which information travels is lightyears away from the dear days of dial-up.
In other words, Gen Z teachers, in particular, do not want to be hunting down teaching job information.
One of the major pain points for candidates is to fill out a job application only to find out after the fact that they have to create an account and re-enter their resume information.
We understand why it’s necessary, but offering a user-friendly alternative can open the doors for a higher volume of qualified candidates to apply.
Something as meaningful as having a mobile-friendly website and application portal can ensure you’re not losing candidates in a complex hiring process.
63% of the teachers surveyed in our report expected their first interview to be set up less than two weeks after applying. Meanwhile, 20% of applicants lose interest when faced with a long hiring process.
Simple and quick should make up the baseline of a recruitment strategy that speaks to today’s teaching candidates.
4. Appeal to international teaching candidates with these considerations
Teachers fulfill one of the noblest roles in today’s society.
For someone whose job is to shape the future generation’s critical thinking abilities, creative pursuits, and political endeavors, it’s only fair, to say the least, that what they receive in return matches the exchange.
The needs of teachers in 2022 are starting to reflect that.
When appealing to today’s teaching candidates, a few important questions to process are:
- What’s the benchmark for your school’s compensation package, and how can you beat that?
- How does your school nurture new teachers teaching abroad?
- Is your hiring process Gen Z-friendly?
- What kind of wellness benefits can you offer?
- How can your school uniquely fulfill teachers’ needs?
- What are your teachers’ core values? How does your school nurture these values?
There are many opportunities to stand out as a competitor and attract qualified teaching candidates to your school.
The evolving needs of teachers
Many of the results from the 2022 International Education Recruitment Report reflect the evolving needs of today’s mid to post-pandemic teachers.
Download the full report for more insights and learn how to amplify your teacher recruitment strategy in 2022 and beyond.