Quebec Appeals to Immigrants to Help Fill Teaching Positions
In an effort to curb a teacher shortage and attract more educators to live and work in the province of Quebec, the province has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting foreign workers in the education field.
According to the Canadian Press, Quebec’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education officially launched a new online campaign aimed at attracting teachers from other Canadian provinces, along with other countries.
The campaign titled ‘1,216,791 Good Reasons to Become A Teacher,’ spoke directly to both Canadians and overseas candidates, and encouraged immigrants, students, teachers, and even adults who are not actively working as teachers to apply to work in Quebec by promoting Quebec’s “excellent” job market.
“I am pleased to launch this initiative to promote and provide information about teaching practices in Quebec. I am convinced that ‘Devenir enseignant‘ (Becoming a Teacher) will benefit a large number of people interested in the teaching profession, whether they are from Quebec or abroad,” said Quebec’s Minister of Education and Higher Education, Jean-François Roberge, in a press release.
“With all the opportunities that today’s employment environment offers, we must, therefore, do more to publicize all the advantages of the profession and attract new teachers. I am confident that this website, entirely devoted to teaching, will help us achieve that goal.”
The news of this campaign comes on the heels of reports of a serious teachers shortage in the province of Quebec. The reason for the shortage is not yet known, however, just weeks before the campaign’s launch, Roberge told the Canadian Press that tackling the shortage of teachers would be the Ministry’s most significant challenge in 2020, and that it would take a few years to resolve.
On its website, the Ministry encouraged individuals living outside of Canada that meet the following criteria to consider applying to immigrate to Quebec for the purpose of becoming a teacher in the province:
- You are contemplating your career path
- You are thinking about a career change
- You are a teacher living and working outside Canada willing to relocate to Quebec
According to information provided on the Ministry’s site, there are several internationally recognized programs in the following countries that will allow you to teach in Québec:
- Algeria
- Belgium
- Cameroon
- Colombia
- Egypt
- France
- Moldova
- Morocco
- Romania
- Tunisia
- United States
Candidates that have graduated from a university program in a subject taught in the Quebec school system will also be eligible to teach that subject in Quebec if they obtain a master’s degree.
Furthermore, graduates of vocational studies will also be eligible to teach Quebec vocational programs if they meet certain criteria.
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.