In October last year, China-Canada Fenghua International School opened a high school in the campus of Thompson River University in Kamloops, BC. CBC reported at the time that this was the first time such cooperation between Canadian universities and Chinese secondary schools. Now, there are at least two BC colleges and universities that intend to open Chinese high schools on their campuses.

They are the Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. “National Post” reporter Douglas Quan reported that doing so would increase the income of the university: the estimated number of the Queensland Polytechnic School is three years and 400,000 Canadian dollars.

It is also possible to create a source of foreign students who are close to the water. But such practices have also caused controversy and dissatisfaction among some teachers and students. The main reason is that these universities are public, and the high schools that open on their campuses are private.

Opponents argue that it is not appropriate for universities to rent campus facilities from public funds to private schools to make money. Another reason is that they feel that letting middle school students work on their own university campus is detrimental to the school’s reputation.

The China-Canada Maple International School uses the BC education program and currently has 60 high school students at Thompson River University. The Kentucky branch of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University plans to welcome about 100 high school students from China and Canada in September this year. The high school that negotiated with the University of Northern British Columbia is reported to belong to Beijing Sino-Canadian School and plans to start enrolling students in September 2018.

The University of Manitoba’s Human Nutrition program is offered by the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences and is accepted by international students. At the four-year undergraduate level, students can choose from three main directions:

Nutritional direction, preparing for becoming a registered dietitian

Food direction, research on how to develop functional foods

Food industry: learning quality assurance, food production open, food industry management to explore health and food impact on the food industry.

As one of the top income earners, registered dietitians are protected by local laws in Canada, and only nutrition professionals who meet specific educational and practical requirements are eligible to use RD as a work title. In addition to the accredited undergraduate degree, students are required to complete a registered dietitian internship program. After passing the CDRE exam, they can apply to the provincial inspection department for registration as a dietitian.

As the best university in Manitoba, it is also the only nutrition specialty in the province to receive PDEP certification. Each nutrition student can work together in a senior non-profit organization, public service department, research institute and industry experts. Interest in internship program, up to 100 hours. In addition, nutrition students also have Pre-Selection opportunities in the Manitoba Registered Dietitian Program. According to the student’s work experience and undergraduate GPA, 20 students from the University of Manda Nutrition are selected to enter the internship program every year, and international students receive fair opportunities. After successful internship, you do not need to wait for graduation before applying for an internship to avoid fierce competition with all Canadian students. Similarly, in order to help students fully prepare for the internship, the university arranges Coordinator communication for each student before the formal application, helps them evaluate the probability of application, and gives students application suggestions, greatly improving the success of the application.

It is worth mentioning that more than 90% of the internship opportunities for registered dietitians released each year in Manitoba are obtained by undergraduate students of Nutrition. In addition to becoming a registered dietitian, Manda’s nutrition foods also account for half of Canada’s functional food research, delivering a large number of talents for functional food development. Nutrition students who choose food orientation can complete a 280-hour internship at the government or company through the University Practicum program. In addition to the October of each year, agricultural and food science students can also get a lot of work and volunteer opportunities at regular on-campus exclusive theme job fairs. The Smart Campus in Manchester University incorporates many of Canada’s leading food industry companies and state-of-the-art research facilities such as Cargill, Bayer, Richardson International, BASF, Patterson Global Foods, etc. Even 2016, Canada’s best employer, Monsanto, is also located. This. The Smart Park is a border between academic research and society, providing an excellent platform for learning jobs.

Getting a visa to teach in China

Steps for getting a visa to teach in China

You need to get a work visa to allow you to teach in China. The process is relatively straightforward but it can take time.

Once you’ve accepted a job offer and signed the contract, follow the steps below. Please note, however, that requirements for some provinces and schools can differ, so please check with the school every step of the way.

1. Get your documents together

Compile the following documents:

Degree certificate

TEFL certificate (if applicable)

Criminal record check

Medical check (in some cases)

Current passport

Passport-style photos

Resume

Reference letter

2. Get some of your documents legalized

Your degree certificate, TEFL certificate (if applicable) and criminal record check must be legalized.

You need to get these documents:

notarized by a notary public

authenticated by the foreign affairs department of your country, and

stamped by the Chinese embassy to get them legalized.

3. Email the documents to your school

Scan each of your documents, including the legalized ones, in high-quality colour and email them to your school.

The school will then work with their provincial government office to arrange the foreign expert confirmation documents to be sent to you.

4. Submit your visa application

Once you’ve received the foreign expert confirmation documents, submit your visa application to your local Chinese embassy or consulate. Visit the Chinese embassy or consulate’s website for the application form.

When you complete the application form, make sure you apply for a ‘Z’ visa. This kind of visa allows you to work in China.

The visa application will incur a fee, which you will need to pay. The cost varies depending on your country.

Make sure you advise us and the school once your visa application has been successful.

You need to provide your documents to a notary public. These people are senior legal practitioners who prepare, attest, witness and certify legal documents for use overseas.

Note that services provided by a notary public will incur a fee.

You need to submit your documents to the foreign affairs department of your home country. Click on the relevant link for your country’s requirements for authentication.

Note that government authentication services will incur a fee.

Avoiding visa hassles

Don’t leave home without a Z visa in your passport. The Z visa is the only legal working visa.

There could be processing delays at the provincial government office (Step 3) or at the embassy or consulate (Step 4). That’s why it’s important to allow plenty of time to get your visa organized.

Chinese authorities strictly enforce penalties for entry and exit visa violations.

If you overstay your visa, you could be up for a 500 RMB fine for each day overstayed (up to a maximum of 5,000 RMB) and/or detention.

The period of detention can range from 5 to 30 days depending on the severity of the violation. So it pays to keep track of your visa dates!

As visa and other entry and exit conditions can change at short notice, you should always contact your nearest Chinese embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date information.

Arriving in China

All foreigners working in China are required to register their place of residence with the local public security bureau (PSB) within 24 hours of arrival. The PSB is a government office which acts as the local police station.

Your school will take you to the local PSB. Many schools do this straight after picking you up from the airport.

Remember to keep your passport handy, as your details will be noted by PSB personnel.

If you want to teach English in China but don’t know where to start, this blog is for you.

As simply as I can, I’ll explain how to teach English in China in six easy steps.

By the end, you’ll know exactly what’s required to make your teach abroad dream a reality.

So let’s get into it!

Step 1 – Check your eligibility

China is a land of contradictions. Getting a teaching job in China is no exception.

For example, a rule which applies in one province may not apply to another province.

Generally speaking, however, there are certain requirements to teach in China. They are:

You’re a native English speaker from USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand

You’re under age 55

You’ve got a bachelor’s degree and TEFL certificate

You’ve got some work experience

You’ve got a clean bill of health and don’t have any criminal convictions.

These requirements may slightly differ between schools and recruiters. For example, some schools accept native English speakers from South Africa.

To find out if you can teach in China with Hello Teacher!, simply use the eligibility checker. It only takes about 10 seconds!

If you’re graduating from university soon, you can still apply to teach in China. Just make sure you have your degree certificate well beforehand as it’s part of the visa procedure for teaching in China.

Don’t have a degree? You can technically teach in China without a degree by doing an internship.

However, I won’t be covering internships in this blog as they’re different to proper teaching positions.

Step 2 – Complete a TEFL course

You can skip this step if you’ve got an education or teaching degree.

For everyone else, you’re going to have to complete a TEFL course to teach in China.

Choose a course that’s at least 120 hours in length. This can be done online, face to face, or both (called a combined course).

A popular option is a combined course where you do approximately 100 hours online and 20 hours face to face. It’s the best of both worlds!

The face-to-face component could be done on Skype or even in person in your city. It all depends on the type of course you choose.

Hello Teacher! has a TEFL store where you can compare top TEFL courses from leading providers all in one place.

The courses are competitively priced and, provided you choose one that’s at least 120 hours, are ideal for China.

An alternative to doing a TEFL course is a CELTA course. It’s more rigorous but more expensive.

You will have other expenses if you want to teach in China, so my advice is to opt for the cheaper option – TEFL.

Step 3 – Decide how you want to find a teaching job

If you’ve got plenty of time, know exactly what you want, and can navigate your way through the complex Chinese education and employment market, then you could decide to go it alone.

By going it alone, I mean contacting schools in China directly to find work.

The problem with this is knowing which schools are reputable, which schools have hired foreign teachers before, which schools arrange the proper visa for you – the list goes on.

Even finding the right person to speak to (i.e. the foreign affairs hiring manager) can be excruciatingly tough.

I’d probably only recommend this option if you’ve taught in China before and you know exactly what you’re doing.

Given you’re reading a ‘how to teach English in China’ blog, I’d say you probably don’t fall into this category!

The other way you can find a teaching job in China is by working with a reputable recruiter (like Hello Teacher!).

A recruiter can help you find the ideal role based on your needs. You can choose from a range of roles in different kinds of schools all across China.

So how do you choose the perfect recruiter?

Go for one that’s objective, trustworthy, and can help you with the visa arrangements and any questions you have along the way.

And be wary of recruiters who only recruit for their brand or chain of schools. Your choices will be very limited!

Step 4 – Narrow down your preferences

To say “I want to teach in China” is a broad statement (but a great start!).

You need to narrow down your preferences. This will help both you and your recruiter to find the most appropriate teaching job in China.

The three most important questions to consider at the start of your job search are:

What type of school in China do you want to work in?

What part of China do you want to work in?

What salary and working conditions will you accept?

It’s ok if you don’t have any particular preferences straight away. Your recruiter can help you decide.

In this blog I won’t go into detail about each of these questions. That’s because I’ve written a dedicated blog about narrowing down your preferences for teaching in China here.

Step 5 – Make a good impression

It’s easy to make a good impression with your recruiter and school.

For starters, make sure your resume or CV is up to date and error-free.

Think about it – you’re applying for a teaching job in China where grammar and spelling are important. If your resume is littered with mistakes, what kind of impression do you think this makes?

Additionally, make sure your resume shows all of your work experience. It’s ok if there are gaps in your employment, but explain why.

Making a good impression at your interview is even more important than perfecting your resume.

Dress well, speak clearly, and articulate why you would be a great teacher in China.

Make sure you’re ready for your interview on time. If you’re not on time, or have to reschedule more than once, what do you think this says about the way you work?

Remember, first impressions are often lasting impressions.

Step 6 – Sign a contract and start preparing

When looking for a teaching job in China, it’s not only the salary that you need to consider.

Things like the type of school you’ll be working at, whether housing is included and how many hours you’ll be working, are equally important.

Once you’re happy with a particular teaching role, sign the contract you’ve been given.

Upon signing the contract, the Z visa process for teaching in China can begin. This is a critical part of your preparation.

Ideally, you should start the visa process three months before you start teaching, provided you have all your personal documents (such as your degree) ready to go.

Most teaching jobs in China offer a reimbursement of your airfare, up to a limit. So when buying your tickets you don’t have to scrimp on the cheapest airline.

In case you didn’t know, most major Western websites and apps are blocked in China. This includes Google, Gmail, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

To get around this, make sure you get a virtual private network (VPN) app on your phone and laptop.

It’s super important to do this before you arrive in China because you may not be able to download a VPN once you’re there.

Finding the best VPN for China isn’t hard as there are a number of providers that are reputable and used by teachers in China.

Finally, make sure you bring enough money. You may need to wait a month until you are paid depending on the school’s pay cycle.

Housing is included in your salary package when you teach in a public school in China. However, if you teach in a private language institute you will need rent money upfront.

Your teach abroad dream is now a reality

So now you know how to teach English in China!

As you can see, it’s not hard. Provided you’re eligible to teach in China, it just takes a little dedication and time to get things in order.

The more prepared you are, the sooner you can get excited about this awesome adventure overseas!