The Canadian language schools industry is the latest to admit to a chronic teacher shortage. In recent months the Gazette has reported recruitment problems in Ireland, the UK and even Australia, where hourly rates are set by agreement between government and unions.
Languages Canada, which represents the country’s language schools, reports one in five schools are having difficulty finding suitable teaching staff following the lifting of Covid restrictions.
“The current day context of increased costs is the most severe financial pressure our members have experienced,”Languages Canada executive director Gonzalo Peralta told the PIE website. “Teacher salaries have increased, as have all other costs – classroom space, travel, activities and housing,” he added
Hourly rates are low, at $18-$24 an hour in Montreal, where the legal minimum wage is $14. And, unlike the higher wages available in the state sector, the rates do not include an element for lesson planning, preparation and marking, which can be time consuming: on-going studies in the UK suggest that such work takes secondary school teachers 48 minutes for every hour taught, while hourly paid university lecturers in the UK are paid for 90 minutes for every hour taught, which includes elements covering admin and meetings.
Canadian EFL teachers are also hit by another common problem: too many hours in high season and too few at other times of year. The schools’ solution to the shortage is also familiar in other English speaking countries: they are hiring non-native English speaker migrants, many of whom may be highly qualified and experienced teachers, and may be willing to work for less money,
Nobody in the language travel industry should be surprised that so many teachers have joined the ‘Great Quit’, which has seen millions of workers in precarious jobs change career after being laid off during the pandemic. After all, EFL schools consider themselves part of the travel and hospitality industry, a sector which, at the end of 2021, reported a worker shortfall of between 11 and 18%, according to a report from the World Travel and Tourism Council.
And in some roles, EFL teaching staff may earn more switching into other hospitality roles. An investigation by the Gazette found rates of pay for UK EFL director of studies were lower, on average, than the salaries then on offer for managers at a branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken in the same part of the country.
