I’m new to this forum and after much searching I could never really find a clear cut answer to my question (I understand there may not be a straight forward answer), so I’m hoping to get some clarification.
I would like to teach English in Taiwan and have question marks over whether my qualifications will be suffice in order to
successfully obtain a work permit.
My qualifications are:
-Advanced Diploma in Multimedia Design (2 years, studied at a University) Also have 4-5 years of relevant experience in this field
-TEFL Certificate
All studies were completed in Australia. I am also an Australian passport holder.
I’ve never seen a definitive answer to this question, but a 2-year degree and a TEFL certificate have been accepted in the past. You might try inquiring with the local education bureau where you intend to work (though it may be an exercise in futility)
You need to have a Bachelor’s degree. That’s four years if you are from the US or three if you are from the UK, among other places. An associate’s degree won’t work, even if you add the TEFL. A diploma in a specialty field won’t work either, even if it is from an accredited university. A TEFL is required by some schools, but not by the government, so it won’t matter when you go to apply for your work permit.
No, unless something has changed, Tempo Gain is correct that with a TEFL, a two year degree (Associate’s) will work.[/quote]
As per the laws, you are right. Practically, no-the government as a matter of practice turns these down now unless the applicant also has teaching experience in a classroom and finding a school who will work with those qualifications is becoming more and more difficult. At any rate, the OP asked about a diploma and that will definitely not work.
I would not suggest someone spend the money to come here in hopes of finding a job with only an AA and a TEFL, certainly not with a diploma and TEFL and no ESL experience. The market here sucks for teachers right now and quite frankly there are tons of qualified people here without jobs.
No, unless something has changed, Tempo Gain is correct that with a TEFL, a two year degree (Associate’s) will work.[/quote]
As per the laws, you are right. Practically, no-the government as a matter of practice turns these down now unless the applicant also has teaching experience in a classroom and finding a school who will work with those qualifications is becoming more and more difficult. At any rate, the OP asked about a diploma and that will definitely not work.
I would not suggest someone spend the money to come here in hopes of finding a job with only an AA and a TEFL, certainly not with a diploma and TEFL and no ESL experience. The market here sucks for teachers right now and quite frankly there are tons of qualified people here without jobs.[/quote]
My education was a bachelors by correspondence and a post grad diploma. Hess offered me I job based on my 1 year post graduate diploma and a weekend TEFL cert.
It’s not a regular Diploma. It’s an Advanced Diploma (This course had the option to jump into 3rd year of the Degree. I didn’t as I had already found work in my field before i finished the course)
According to the Australian Qualifications Framework both the Advanced Diploma and Associate Degree sit in the same level.
[b]"Level 6
Graduates at this level have broad knowledge and skills for highly skilled paraprofessional work.
Associate degree
Advanced diploma
2 years
1.5 to 2 years "[/b]
… I’m not sure if that changes anything.
But i do currently have that qualification and a TEFL cert. So i would like to know if these are legally accepted for a work permit, not how difficult or easy it will be to find work with these qualifications. I have no problems with moving to different areas of Taiwan where there is a higher demand for teachers or accepting low paying jobs as a result of my qualifications. As I’ve already mentioned, I just want to confirm if this is indeed acceptable in order to legally obtain a work permit.
It may well be that the Advanced Diploma is the same as an Associate’s degree, and that with that, and a TEFL certificate, you should theoretically have the right to teach, based on the law in Taiwan.
The problem is that you are not dealing with the supreme court in getting your documentation accepted. You’re dealing first with some girl behind the desk at the cram school who is paid about teh same as a clerk at the 7-11 and has only rudimentary English, if that. She is looking for the words “Associate’s Degree” (actually, she is probably looking for the words “Bachelor’s Degree”) because that’s what is on her checklist. She doesn’t have any creativity to THINK whether they are the same, and anyway it is not in her school’s interest to gamble that they might be accepted, IF there are plenty of other warm foreign bodies with the documents that are on her checklist – the ones she knows will be okay.
There’s the law, and then there’s what people do with it. This is particularly true in Taiwan. And it’s particularly true about hiring practices anywhere. There is always a “perfectly good reason” why a qualified candidate was not hired, and of COURSE it had nothing to do with anything illegal or discriminatory. Organizations simply want to take the easiest way out. Sometimes that may be short-sighted with regard to the larger picture (churn, frequent re-hiring for the same position, re-training, etc.) but no one seems to think that far ahead.
I completely understand what your saying and have no doubt that, that may be the case.
I just wanted to confirm if it is indeed legally possible
I have an employer that is quite keen to get me on board, however I was concerned if my qualifications weren’t enough to be legally accepted.
In conclusion I’m assuming that ‘yes’ my qualifications will be enough to legally obtain a work permit, I just may run into some technicalities, and having a keen employer will more than likely work in my favor?
Are there any supporting documents i should provide to assist in possibly avoiding confusion.
I’m contemplating contacting my University and requesting a statement of my course duration.
I have a 3 year college diploma. It does not say associates on it as it is from Canada.
From what the MOE told me, as long as they see the words 2 + years on it, or anything less than 4 years (bachelors) , they will accept it with any TESOL certificate.
That said, YMMV because as people posted below, many schools and even the government agency may not have seen this type of certificate before, and it might be easier for them to decline you rather than accept it if they are not sure. You may need to kick up a bit of a stink if that is the case.
[quote=“JDM-086”]I completely understand what your saying and have no doubt that, that may be the case.
I just wanted to confirm if it is indeed legally possible
I have an employer that is quite keen to get me on board, however I was concerned if my qualifications weren’t enough to be legally accepted.
In conclusion I’m assuming that ‘yes’ my qualifications will be enough to legally obtain a work permit, I just may run into some technicalities, and having a keen employer will more than likely work in my favor?
[/quote]
The way I would frame it is that no your qualifications are not enough to get a work permit, but you may run into a technicality that allows you to get away with it. It’s not a technicality that they regularly practice turning people with your qualifications down. You are describing a degree in a specific field that has nothing to do with teaching and you have said you don’t have teaching experience. You have a TEFL, but not all of those are looked at equally. A class that you pay $300 online to take vs a class where you sit through lectures and get feedback on your teaching practice is not the same, and they do know the difference. From what information you have provided, you are not qualified for a work permit here.
As to the whole associate’s thing, people say it’s legal- but I don’t know of a reputable school (offering work permit/arc) that will hire someone without a Bachelor’s. I’m not trying to be harsh, just realistic. I see people coming and going every day who think they can get jobs here and they don’t . I have two friends with Bachelor’s, a TEFL, and one year teaching in Korea and they can’t get jobs-they’ve been here for weeks. You are under the qualifications the market is demanding and my guess is that if the school you mention isn’t attracting the super qualified candidates sitting here without jobs, it’s because there is something wrong.
The Chinese version of the part of the law being discussed in this thread says:
I guess 大專 can be translated in different ways, but I get 大專 when I type “junior college” into Google Translate (translate.google.com/#en/zh-TW/junior%20college). Two of my co-workers say that a 大專 is a school that people attend for a couple of years (or more) after high school, and that they can graduate and get a diploma from that school.
In American parlance (not that it governs, just that it’s the only parlance I’m familiar with), it looks as if it says something like “graduate of a junior college or above.”
The Chinese version of the part of the law being discussed in this thread also says:
It looks as if it says that foreigners who don’t have bachelor’s degrees should have language teacher training certificates.
One thing I would add, OP, is be prepared for randomness in the application of rules in Taiwan. If you come up against this remember that it isn’t some kind of a conspiracy, just the way things are done here.
[quote=“tomthorne”]One thing I would add, OP, is be prepared for randomness in the application of rules in Taiwan. If you come up against this remember that it isn’t some kind of a conspiracy, just the way things are done here.[/quote] Yeah, that’s an issue, for sure. 'Course it can also sometimes work in one’s favor.
Unfortunately it never does for me because I’m a stickler for following the rules. However, I could tell you some stories about my expat chums [/quote]
It’s good you stick to the rules. I wouldn’t advise anyone to test my hypothesis of the system randomly working in their favor. However, I’ve had a few minor instances of good luck in that regard. I remember going into the NIA office one year and saying something like this to the person behind the counter: “I haven’t brought everything that I need. May I renew my ARC anyway?” Those may not have been my exact words, but they’re pretty close. And they let me renew my ARC! Now, whatever I was missing may have been minor, and I wouldn’t recommend doing what I did. But anyways, it’s nice to have good luck every now and then.
I actually do have teaching experience, however my paper qualifications don’t display that. From my understanding legally your qualification does not have to have any relation to teaching at all (only the TEFL/TESOL cert). This would only really matter to the employer and if they want to hire you given your relevant experience and knowledge.
Once again i understand my “lack” of qualifications will make it harder for me to find better jobs or a job at all (I have an interested employer). That is not my question at all. I simply want to know if by law, these paper qualifications can clear a work permit.
from what i can see you need either:
Bachelors Degree
or
Associates Degree + TEFL/TESOL cert (the grade of which hasn’t been specified)
Whilst an Advanced Diploma in wording is not the same as an Associates Degree, according to the AQF ((aus qualifications framework) which I would say is a very credible source) it is the same level/rank of qualification.
I am in the process of obtaining official transcripts for the Adv. Diploma and a statement of time studied to prove it is a 2 year course.
Thank you CJ and Dan both responses were very helpful
