Practical advice to address the rapidly changing recruitment landscape for international schools (April 2016)

1. Finding the best
teachers and leaders
in an increasingly
competitive market
21st Century recruitment

2. Overview
 Welcome and introductions
 The international schools market
 The impact of increased
competition
 What schools can do to attract
teachers - survey
 The effective use of technology
 Discussion and questions

3. Andrew Wigford

4. Dave Pitchford

5. 0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
2004 2005 2008 2009 2015 2020
Schools
*Figures from ISC Research
Growth projection

6. There are now 8,231
international schools
across the world
*Figures from ISC Research

7. • Competition for teachers
• Takes longer – all year round
• Increased costs
• Traditional practices no
longer as effective
• More fairs
• More agencies
• Fishing in the same pond
The impact on school
recruitment

8. • More choice and more likely to
shop around
• Career focused and better
informed of the opportunities
• More likely to seek a second
opinion and do their research
The impact on teachers

9. There are now 402,000
international school
teachers
• 523,000 needed by 2020
• An extra 121,000

10. • UK, IRL,USA, CAN, AUS, NZ, SA
• Surplus or deficit?
• ‘Brain drain’ in UK– Sir Michael
Wilshaw
• Australian & IRL shortages
• US shortages for many years in
some subjects
Where will they come
from?

11. How do teachers choose
which schools to apply to?

12. • Applying to international schools
• 401 teachers responded
• Fully qualified, specifically
looking for international school
jobs
• Most had made applications
previously
Our survey says….

13. • Location – 34%
• The role – 28%
• The salary package – 22%
• Reputation – 12%
• Accreditation /membership –
4%
What attracts them to look
at specific int. schools?

14. • Recommendations – 25%
• Information pack and
application process – 40%
• Job description – 16%
• Well written job advert – 5%
• School website – 14%
What makes them
apply?

15. • Application forms – 35%
• Long complicated application
process – 24%
• Poor information – 16%
• Slow communication – 15 %
• Bad organisation – 10%
What turns them off?

16. • Better response
• Give feedback
• Make applying easier
• Online applications
• Keep candidates informed
How can schools
improve?

17. What can you do to
attract the best
teachers for your
school?

18. • PR / marketing not just for
parents
• Make links with colleges
• Make your website stand out
• Encourage referrals
• Make links with agencies
• Develop your
web presence…
Actively promote your
school to teachers

19. Marketing to candidates on
the Internet: practical steps

20. 1.Take stock
“If I had an hour to
solve a problem I'd
spend 55 minutes
thinking about the
problem and 5
minutes thinking
about solutions.”
Albert Einstein

21. 2. Start small (& compliant)
– Appoint a digital recruitment
“champion”
– Create a diary of tasks (start
with an audit)
– The web site
• Accessibility statement?
• Cookies statement (EU)?
• Develop a careers section
• Ensure safeguarding is
prominent
• Mobile-friendly pages?

22. A good starting point

23. 3. Move to the next level:
find the sweet spot
What
candidates
want to
know
What you
want to
tell
candidates

24. What candidates want
– A straight-talking jobs section that
focusses on benefits
– Comprehensive, up-to-date information
about salaries, tax, accommodation,
security, visas and cost of living
– Believable testimonials from teachers
– Demonstrable interest in the teachers as
professionals
– A mix of photos, text (“TLDR”) and video
supporting the above

25. 5. Learn from the experts

26. 6.Then look at your wider
online presence
Website
? The
next big
thing…

27. ...but only pursue if you
have the resources for it
If you can’t keep it updated, either…
1. Assign long-term resources to help:
- Staff who understand social media
- Your school’s 500+ “digital natives”
- A reliable freelancer
2. Or stick to the minimum you can
manage.
Neglected channels are worse than
no channel at all.

28. 7. Regularly review
supporting technologies
• Real-time online
interviewing
• In-your-own-time online
interviewing
• Virtual recruitment fairs or
subject matter leadership
• ApplicantTracking Systems

29. • Better response
• Give feedback
• Make applying easier
• Online applications
• Keep candidates informed
How can schools
improve?

30. Make applying easier

31. Provide school / role /
process information

32. Give better, faster feedback

33. Be organised

34. More at apply.uptic.net

35. Thank you
For details of TIC Recruitment’s services,
contact Andrew:
a.wigford@ticrecruitment.com
For a demo of the Uptic Applicant
Tracking System, contact Dave: dave@uptic.net
today or email us