Hi everyone,
I’m currently reading as much as I can find on international schools and in a lot of threads I see people that work in them are employed on contracts of varying length. Some seem to be employed for two years, while others seem to have been in their teaching roles for 10+ years.
Can anyone shed any light on how this works? My goal is to become a (proper) international school teacher in Japan and live there for a long time, if not forever, but I worry that I will spend over 5 years or longer gaining the relevant experience and skills only to be given a 2 year or shorter contract. What do you do after that?!
What do other teachers do to remain in these schools for their considerable future? And what do those do whose contract runs out? Is it a scramble to support yourself or do they usually have support from a spouse while they search for something else?
I have no support other than myself, and I’d rather like to avoid the risk of being unemployed in Japan if I can help it if contracts for teachers are only short.
Thank you for all and any advice.
9 comments
Well I imagine it works like almost any other employment with a finite contract where the school retains the option to renew your contract, and they will discuss with you several months before the end og your current contract what will happen. Usually this means if you do your job well and the school is satisfied they will always offer you a renewal of contract and you can then discuss the details of your next contract. If you dont get the renewal you will know several months before the contract ends so that you have enough time to find a new position. It wont end up being a scramble. If it is getting within 4 or 5 months of the end of your contract and you havent spoken with the school about renewal then you can push the issue and possibly begin looking for new employment by yourself.
It varies by school. Some schools are strict about short contract terms to avoid being put into a position where it is difficult to legally fire someone. Other schools care less about that and are happy to have a lifer on staff.
I am not sure how international schools work, but contract laws recently changed in the university world, at least: contracts in many cases are ostensibly limited to 5 years (if my recollecting is correct) and apparently cannot be renewed. However, the application of the new law varies greatly among the universities I know about.
Your best course would be to bring up the matter with the schools during the interview. Clearly state your goal is long-term employment–that is attractive to the schools–and explicitly ask if long-term employment is possible at the school. If the answer is “no,” thank the school for its time and walk away. If the answer is hemming and hawing, as is likely to be, try to find outside information about the school’s policies from people who’ve worked there in the last 5 years or so about what the *de facto* policy is.
Contracts for international schools work the same as those for regular Japanese companies. They can be renewed up to 5 years of total employment, then the company has to make the employee permanent or ‘dissolve’ the position (aka fire you are rehire someone else).
You may though only get a yearly contract or a 2 year contract at a time, it is up to the school. Some people get permanent positions like Japanese school teachers, some don’t. Depends on the school and its needs.
It will likely depend on the school. As has been mentioned, some like to stick to their shorter term contracts and keep that revolving door spinning. Some are open to giving permanent positions, but probably not right away. During your interview, or whenever you talk with someone from the school, ask them if they offer tenured positions. If they say yes, or yes but only after 1-2 years of contract work, then you’re probably good.
Don’t worry. A contract having an end point definitely does not mean you lose your job after that date. It’s often a chance to renegotiate pay so it’s a good thing. For international schools it actually often means they want AT LEAST the specified commitment, not that time period as a meximum which abruptly ends with you being unemployed and lost.
2 years is more often the minimum requirement internationally and contracts are usually structured to ensure you don’t try to leave prior to that. From my experience the schools would like you to stay longer and I don’t know anyone who has made it through a 2 year contract at an international school and then the school preferred them to leave. If that is the case they would get you out when it suits them. My understanding was japanese schools (not international) work differently so would avoid having staff on long term as they would need to offer permanent employment. I could be wrong though.
Hello, I work at a (proper) international school (I assume you mean CIS/WASC accredited K-12 schools as proper?) in Japan so I can answer your question. From getting to know other teachers through PD’s and jobalikes here, I know it’s basically the same at most schools.
As others have stated, international schools typically offer 1 or 2 year contracts and they are continuously renewed unless you are not fulfilling the duties of your contract. There are no limits to how long you can be employed at a school. I do not know where this limit idea comes from. There are some fantastic teachers at my school that have been here 10+ years. Is this limit an ALT/JET/Conversation school thing?
(Edit – Someone just cleared up this 5 year limit for me. I was referring to someone else in this thread that had said you could not be renewed after 5 years. I was not thinking about the Japanese law (無期労働契約) which is quite complicated.)
International schools hire around October and November for the next school year in August. There is no “scramble” as you stated. This isn’t a profession with last minute hires. If I want to work at TIS or Seisen or wherever for the 2022-2023 school year starting August, I would be applying fall of 2021.
I wouldn’t worry so much about finding a position once you are in Japan. If you are a certified teacher with 2-5 years experience teaching in your home country and you’re good enough to get into an accredited international school here and then you work 2+ years, it’s not that hard finding other positions within Japan with that experience.
Good luck!
Thank you all for the informative and reassuring replies 🙂