Work Permit For Indian Teacher

[WilliamIV]

An Indian friend wishes to Teach English in Thailand

Many English Teaching Institutions

list as their employment requirements

Native English Speakers from UK,USA, Canada, New Zealand Australia.

They do not list India - yet India does have a Large English Speaking population.

So the Question is >

is India not Listed because it is not regarded as Native English Speaking

OR

Is it because Work Permits are MORE Difficult to obtain for Indian Passport Holders?

Anyone with Practical experience of this situation please?

Thanks

Bill

Edited February 15, 2011 by WilliamIV

[Phatcharanan]

The last Indian refused at a previous school of mine was rejected because of the accent.

[ELCata]

The schools (and students) want native speakers, rather than just English speakers, otherwise they would just employ Thai teachers on half the wages. There are no restrictions on any nationality as regards obtaining a work permit, but your friend will probably find his employment prospects very limited.:jap:

[Scott]

Schools will hire Indian teachers, but as a very general rule, they want native English speakers. Depending on your friends degree, they may be able to get work as a subject teacher. For example, he/she may be able to teach math, science or social studies.

People not coming from a country where English is the first language usually have to pass an English proficiency exam, such as the TOIEC.

[ELCata]

Schools will hire Indian teachers, but as a very general rule, they want native English speakers. Depending on your friends degree, they may be able to get work as a subject teacher. For example, he/she may be able to teach math, science or social studies.

I would go farther than 'very general'. 95%+ of the jobs advertised in the ajarn jobs section stipulate native English speakers only; some even specify a single nationality.

People not coming from a country where English is the first language usually have to pass an English proficiency exam, such as the TOIEC.

Really? Why would schools go to all that trouble when native speakers are 'ten a penny'?

Edited February 15, 2011 by ElCata

[BruceMangosteen]

I would go farther than 'very general'. 95%+ of the jobs advertised in the ajarn jobs section stipulate native English speakers only; some even specify a single nationality.

Despite that, they get replies from Filipinos and Indians and often hire them. It's all show, no go. It remains difficult to find native speakers with real college degrees to teach outside of Bangkok. TEFL outfits and other agencies run by Thai's seem to have control of the supply side, convincing unknowing(or those who don't care) Thai people that basic Filipino/Indian English is suffice, "same native" "don't worry, him good teacher" "students like".

[BruceMangosteen]

People not coming from a country where English is the first language usually have to pass an English proficiency exam, such as the TOIEC.

Good morning. The last time you mentioned this I checked with the three at my school who don't speak English well, and they didn't have a clue what you were referring. All have Work Permits and VISA's and letters from the TCT giving permission to teach. None have a degree from an English speaking country either, one(perhaps all three) no degree at all. I then called two friends at other schools, they laughed at me for even thkinking such a criteria was in place/force. Can you kindly advise us the basis for making this statement? Thank you in advance.

[Scott]

It may depend on where you are located and the Immigration and labour office in your area. We cannot get past Immigration without an English Language proficiency exam and the TOIEC is the easiest (that I know of). Immigration has granted the extension of stay based on someone having pre-paid for the exam and having a date to take it. The Work Permit was granted only after they had taken the exam and had obtained a score of 600.

Some years back, this applied only to Filipinos. Later we had teachers from Europe that also had to take the exam, including a German national who had received their degree in the US.

The TOIEC exam results is only good for 2 years and we had a nice lady who had a degree in education who was required by the Labour office to take the test again because her old one was over 2 years old.

I would recommend getting a TOIEC if someone is going to be seeking employment in the open market. If the person is in an area where it's not asked for, then they may not need to take it.

Rules are not applied uniformly in Thailand.

[ELCata]

I would go farther than 'very general'. 95%+ of the jobs advertised in the ajarn jobs section stipulate native English speakers only; some even specify a single nationality.

Despite that, they get replies from Filipinos and Indians and often hire them. It's all show, no go. It remains difficult to find native speakers with real college degrees to teach outside of Bangkok. TEFL outfits and other agencies run by Thai's seem to have control of the supply side, convincing unknowing(or those who don't care) Thai people that basic Filipino/Indian English is suffice, "same native" "don't worry, him good teacher" "students like".

Don't get me started on agencies.

I'm sure that (way, way) outside Bangkok qualified teachers are hard to find & jobs can be secured by almost anyone. For example, I know a UK pensioner with no qualifications (apart from GCE metalwork ungraded) who worked in a school in Chayapoom province; for 10k per month.

Have you seen how much the Filipino teachers are paid in Bangkok? I'm sure that an Indian gentlemen who is educated enough to speak English & has the funds to even travel to Thailand wouldn't be happy with 15k per month.

[siampolee]

Poster # 9 may well have more then a vested interest in the supply of teaching (sic) staff to schools.

[otherstuff1957]

All of the Filipinos at my last school had to take the TOIEC exam and get a minimum score of 550 before they could get their WPs. This was in BKK, so maybe things are different out in the provinces.

As for the Filipinos mention above who laughed at this requirement... are you sure that they really have Work Permits? And if they do, do those WPs specify 'teacher' as their job?

[mkawish]

The schools (and students) want native speakers, rather than just English speakers, otherwise they would just employ Thai teachers on half the wages. There are no restrictions on any nationality as regards obtaining a work permit, but your friend will probably find his employment prospects very limited.:jap:

Not so....

if he/she is willing to pay for a voice and diction coach....

like trying to change spots on the leopard skin....

it could be done.... perfect voice and diction could possibly be achieved.... or close to it....

[mkawish]

I would go farther than 'very general'. 95%+ of the jobs advertised in the ajarn jobs section stipulate native English speakers only; some even specify a single nationality.

Despite that, they get replies from Filipinos and Indians and often hire them. It's all show, no go. It remains difficult to find native speakers with real college degrees to teach outside of Bangkok. TEFL outfits and other agencies run by Thai's seem to have control of the supply side, convincing unknowing(or those who don't care) Thai people that basic Filipino/Indian English is suffice, "same native" "don't worry, him good teacher" "students like".

Don't get me started on agencies.

I'm sure that (way, way) outside Bangkok qualified teachers are hard to find & jobs can be secured by almost anyone. For example, I know a UK pensioner with no qualifications (apart from GCE metalwork ungraded) who worked in a school in Chayapoom province; for 10k per month.

Have you seen how much the Filipino teachers are paid in Bangkok? I'm sure that an Indian gentlemen who is educated enough to speak English & has the funds to even travel to Thailand wouldn't be happy with 15k per month.

For a non qualified person to teach English in Thailand....

Is the 10k good..... or not so good.... pls?

[Kilgore Trout]

I would go farther than 'very general'. 95%+ of the jobs advertised in the ajarn jobs section stipulate native English speakers only; some even specify a single nationality.

Despite that, they get replies from Filipinos and Indians and often hire them. It's all show, no go. It remains difficult to find native speakers with real college degrees to teach outside of Bangkok. TEFL outfits and other agencies run by Thai's seem to have control of the supply side, convincing unknowing(or those who don't care) Thai people that basic Filipino/Indian English is suffice, "same native" "don't worry, him good teacher" "students like".

Don't get me started on agencies.

I'm sure that (way, way) outside Bangkok qualified teachers are hard to find & jobs can be secured by almost anyone. For example, I know a UK pensioner with no qualifications (apart from GCE metalwork ungraded) who worked in a school in Chayapoom province; for 10k per month.

Have you seen how much the Filipino teachers are paid in Bangkok? I'm sure that an Indian gentlemen who is educated enough to speak English & has the funds to even travel to Thailand wouldn't be happy with 15k per month.

For a non qualified person to teach English in Thailand....

Is the 10k good..... or not so good.... pls?

That would be about 300 US per month, hard to live on

but, if the indian gentleman has a degree in education from India and speaks English well there is a chance he could get a decent paying job if he looks. There is even a Thai Indian international school, for example. However, if he is unqualified then the chances of anything worthwhile are slim.

[WilliamIV]

Many Thanks to all who posted replies here.

My Indian friend and I have learned a lot.

He has a Degree in Computing

But no qualification in Teaching

He planned to come to Thailand and Attend

a TESOL (TEFL / TESL) course first.

Before seeking employment.

I can say he does Speak English very well

Your further thoughts would be most welcome.

Bill

[BruceMangosteen]

He planned to come to Thailand and Attend

a TESOL (TEFL / TESL) course first.

Before seeking employment.

That a waste of time and money. He will be discriminated againist at all levels. Having a TEFL would mean nothing, the provider might claim something like "job guaranteed" but it remains a scam. Best of luck to your friend. Focus on the "computer" jobs, they are usually filled by non native speakers as very few native speakers with legitimate degrees and experience in that field are looking for teaching jobs in Thailand.

[Scott]

I might add that it is hard to get computer teachers who are Thai. A lot of them can get much higher wages outside the teaching field. The more skills your friend has, the greater his marketability.

In the past, I know that Indian Teachers were paid higher wages than other Asians, such as Filipinos. We usually started Indian nationals at around 22,000-25,000 baht per month. A few, who were quite well qualified commanded salaries that reached the 30,000 range.

Best of luck.

[jcartermad]

The most imprtant thing here is the ACCENT. If the Indian person has a genuine degree, TEFL and an accent approaching a British one then please PM me. If he holds a science degree so much the better. I know of 4 jobs near Roi-Et. PM me and then submit his CV / Resume and I will see what I can do.

Regards - John.