20th November 2023

Why your school should consider recruiting international teaching staff

Recruiting high-quality staff is always going to be a priority for schools across the country; however, the best schools ensure that they embrace innovative approaches with their hiring efforts. Recruiting internationally and sponsoring teachers is a great way to get fresh talent into schools, who share different perspectives and can add real value to your curriculum. 

There’s a common misconception that sponsorship is a complicated process; however, it’s easier now than ever for schools to sponsor teachers to work in the UK.

Let’s look at average recruitment times for local teachers

Hiring a teacher permanently can be a lengthy process, depending on the circumstances of the candidate as well as the availability of the staff conducting the interviews. In an ideal world, a permanent candidate would be interviewed and hired within a 7-10 day turnaround, but occasionally the process can take a few weeks. 

Again, there are misconceptions around average recruitment times for international teachers, with assumptions that you’ll be waiting many months for an international teacher to start with you. In fact, the average time is around 3 weeks (15 business days), which isn’t too dissimilar to hiring someone locally!

What are the key benefits of recruiting international teaching staff?

The visa can last 1-5 years: A common misconception with sponsorship is the assumption that you’ll only be able to sponsor for a few months. Most sponsorship opportunities are often extended beyond the 12-month mark and enable you to get an incredible return on investment for international teachers. 

The majority of international teachers looking to build on their experience in the UK are also interested in living semi-permanently or immigrating to the UK full-time. 

Improved diversity and inclusivity within schools: Diversity and inclusion are incredibly important, even more so within school environments where children and young adults are learning about the world. The United Kingdom, and specifically the major cities within them, are already known for being multicultural and diverse. 

It’s important to nurture that within a school environment and to ensure that there is representation for students. In most cases, international students are accepted by schools across the UK; so, especially if you’re a school that has a higher percentage of international students, investing in high-quality international teaching staff should be a consideration. 

Encourages fresh perspectives and teaching styles: Along with the diversity of nationalities, you want to ensure that your learning environment continuously has fresh perspectives. The best public schools across the country don’t achieve that status by chance. 

They achieve it through hiring incredibly talented teachers not just from the UK, but all over the world. Especially if your school is struggling within a specific department, it may be time to look outside of your traditional hiring methods and consider candidates who will introduce new and improved teaching styles. You should take advantage of a global talent pool and use that as a way to propel your school forward

Fast processing times and no delayed start dates: As previously mentioned, processing times can be incredibly quick, and you can have more control over start dates as the candidate in question will be relocating to solely work for you. 

What is the sponsorship process? 

If your school is considering sponsorship, these are the key steps that you must take:

• You must have a employer licence
• You must offer an international teacher a position, and get their acceptance
• You must apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship Number (CoS) – CoS numbers take 1 to 2 days to be granted

After this, the teacher will then use the CoS Number to apply for their Skilled Worker Visa

and await a decision from UK Visa & Immigration. This could take from 3 weeks or 5 days if schools pay for priority service. Once your teacher has been accepted, they’re ready to start with you!

The cost of sponsorship

Schools need to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship (£199) and an Immigration Skills Charge (£1,000) per year of the visa.

If your school is considering sponsorship, but you’re unsure of what the process is for each country, you can access our full guide here which will give you all the details. 

We cover the sponsorship process for 12+ countries in this guide.

Alternatively, you can book a call with one of our school experts who are happy to answer any questions that you have.