First Job Fair To Recruit New Teachers

Mount Saint Vincent University is hosting Nova Scotia's first job fair designed to help school boards recruit new teachers before other provinces do.

The fair is for the Mount's second-year bachelor of education students. School boards will conduct interviews on campus over the weekend.

"We've taken a pro-active step to recruit these talented new teachers straight from university for Nova Scotia classrooms," said Education Minister Angus MacIsaac. "We need more than just new graduates, though. I encourage all qualified Nova Scotians who want to teach in our schools to send their resumes directly to our boards."

Other fairs are planned in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick throughout January and February. The fairs give graduating teachers an opportunity to meet school board representatives on campus and learn about teaching in Nova Scotia.

Boards will hire a portion of their entire complement of teachers through the fairs. There are other opportunities for graduating teachers, substitutes and experienced teachers to get jobs for the next school year.

The Mount's fair will begin tonight, Jan. 17, with an informal opportunity for students to speak with representatives from the school boards, Nova Scotia School Boards Association, Nova Scotia Teachers Union, Nova Scotia Teachers Credit Union and the department's registrar of teacher certification.

Fairs will also take place in Antigonish for St. Francis Xavier University students from Jan. 23 to 25, and in Wolfville for Acadia University students from Jan. 26 to 28. Boards will arrange their own interviews with students from Université Sainte-Anne.

The department is organizing a fair in Fredericton for students attending the University of New Brunswick, University of Maine and Saint Thomas University. It is tentatively scheduled for late February.

Université de Moncton is holding a fair on Feb. 12 and 13. Two representatives from each Nova Scotia school board will attend.

With the new collective agreement between government and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, school boards have more freedom to hire early while also providing job security for contract teachers.

Earlier hiring practices are part of the department's Learning for Life plan. They will help achieve other initiatives in the plan, including the hiring of more than 300 new teachers over the next three years for special education and the reduction of class size in Primary to Grade 2.

More information on the job fairs and contact information for school boards are available on the department's Web site at www.ednet.ns.ca .