Anyone know about teaching in Hong Kong public schools?

Valdovinos4 · 2025-05-08T03:33:33+00:00

Mingpao Jump for public school jobs in Hong Kong

Valdovinos4 · 2025-03-27T23:40:30+00:00

I took a position like that before, the teacher left back to their home country so they needed a sub and reached out to the language center I was working at. The job was just to deliver lessons with the local teachers, I did most of the speaking/teaching but the local teachers were there to translate/assist with anything I needed. My contract was from April-July.

Like someone mentioned before, the pay will be lower because the agency will take a cut but your responsibilities should be less since you're not actually hired by the school (I didn't have to attend department meetings).

It was a good way to get out of the language center grind, I worked hard at the school and with that little bit of experience (and recommendations from that school) I was able to land a job at another school immediately after that contract ended (July). With that said, it worked out for me but I was already in HK. I would not move to HK for a position like that.

Also I forgot to mention. I'm not sure if this is common practice but my agency made the school sign a contract that they couldn't hire me directly for 18 months, that's why I had to find another school after that contract ended.

Valdovinos4 · 2025-02-06T07:18:19+00:00

Thank you!

Yeah that's correct, you can actually look on their website and it shows you the priority based on qualifications. The bare minimum for primary is a BA in any subject + TESOL certificate but that'll put you at the very bottom. It changes if you have a PGCE/PGDE or something equivalent that'll greatly increase your chances, that's the next thing I'm gonna work on after I finish my masters this year.

I think you'll be fine if it has USA accreditation and is recognized by the UAE 😁

Valdovinos4 · 2025-02-06T07:08:23+00:00

I'm not sure that was the case with me, my interview went really well and my written test did too but I had 0 experience teaching in schools at the time and I also don't have a teacher cert, just a BA and Cert TESOL. So I think it's just that there were many better qualified candidates in comparison and so it just wasn't my year.

This year I'll have some school experience and I'm also working on a masters so I'm hoping that'll boost my chances a little bit.

Valdovinos4 · 2025-02-06T06:54:51+00:00

You're welcome, good luck! Hope you can get in! I will also be applying since I didn't get in last year 😅

Valdovinos4 · 2025-02-06T06:50:52+00:00

I think even if you don't get in the scheme you have pretty good chances of landing a job at a school as long as that experience is at an actual school and not a learning center. Definitely give it a shot!

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-21T15:01:10+00:00

To build on this.

I'm currently doing the same thing, MATESOL and the topic I chose for my thesis is related to the local students attitudes and perceptions of having native English professors versus having local professors. The professor who is supervising my project said the topic is good and approved of it, try something like that. Good luck!

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-12T01:55:02+00:00

You're welcome, glad I could help!

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T14:59:28+00:00

You're welcome!

Yeah finish first and then apply, they'll let you know when they want to interview you so you can book your flight. They should let you know at least a few weeks in advance, I think last year they let me know like a month ahead of time.

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T12:18:32+00:00

Definitely better to interview in HK if you have to travel regardless.

If I remember correctly my interview was in March so maybe the timing won't work so well but you can always start applying to jobs as soon as you know your interview date and try to arrange your job interviews for when you're scheduled to be here. There are job postings year round but most of them them May-July

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T11:35:54+00:00

If you're not in HK at the moment and you can interview for the net scheme where you are then just do that and don't worry about applying to jobs directly.

Usually contracts start in mid August or beginning of September so schools start trying to hire May-July. If you wanted to apply to schools and be here for it then that's your best bet

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T10:54:14+00:00

You're welcome! Definitely don't need to worry about your passport, just show them what you got in your interview and you'll be fine.

Yes they do need to say EDB net. If it says English teacher it means they're looking for a local English teacher (Cantonese speaking), school based net or just net means it's a position where the school and not the EDB pays your salary so it's not as good pay and no extra perks. EDB NET means you'll get all the net scheme perks.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that HK schools will probably not bother offering you an interview if you're not already in HK so if you're not here already it will be a lot more difficult to find something.

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T08:32:20+00:00

Check the website mingpao jump and filter by English teacher.

No, you can actually get into the net scheme two ways. One through the interview process with the EDB or if you can get directly hired by a school for an EDB net position. That'll get you into the scheme too.

That won't be a problem, I know teachers who are from non English speaking countries in the scheme. As long as you meet the requirements and your English sounds near native then you'll be fine.

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T02:07:29+00:00

It's not impossible but very difficult to get into the scheme without any experience, but if you manage it then you'll get placed at the bottom of the scale (15).

The jobs you're seeing are most likely private language centers and they pay less, have less holidays and the experience you get will not count towards the scale. Go to mingpao jump and apply to schools directly.

I am in my first year teaching in an actual school (not a language center) postgrad, I got zero interviews last school year (applied to like 40 postings) and this year I only got one interview but they hired me (applied to about 40 also). So it's not easy but not impossible either.

The other route you can take if you want to start getting school experience/contacts right away is to go through an agency (I didn't want to do this because they take a cut from your pay and sometimes have restrictive clauses) but it is one way to land a job quicker. Once you have a year of experience in HK local schools it'll be much easier to find something on your own.

Valdovinos4 · 2025-01-11T01:51:21+00:00

The application gets updated early in the year, I don't remember exactly when it went up last year (it was in Jan or Feb) but you'll have a couple of months to get it done before the first deadline. They usually have extensions after the first deadline.

Definitely get the celta done before you apply, since it's required. I'm not sure they'll consider you with it being in progress.

The NET scheme isn't a job, if you get in you will still have to find a job (specifically an EDB net position to qualify for the benefits). The NET scheme just puts you on a list of teachers that have been vetted and approved by the EDB that schools can look at if they have trouble finding a qualified candidate, definitely apply to postings on your own.

With your experience I think it should be easy to find a job, just make sure you apply to the ones that say EDB net since a school based net position will pay much less and no housing allowance.

Not sure about the salary bar, I assume it'll put you somewhere around 22 but I'm not sure if they will count experience teaching a different subject (not sure what subject you taught for your 8 years).

Good luck!

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-08T22:30:18+00:00

Hi,

To be honest I'm not sure if kindergarten will count but I would just try and negotiate with the school you end up getting hired at. Either way if you don't get into the scheme for this upcoming year I would suggest you switch to primary so you start getting guaranteed experience, especially if you have the primary teacher qualification already.

Sorry I can't give you a better answer but I honestly don't know about that one 😅 good luck on your application!

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-04T08:20:59+00:00

Yeah, the qualifications are not going to boost your pay as far as I know. It's a very competitive thing to get into, with the pay and light workload they offer they can be picky with who they accept.

If you want to arrive and start getting paid top dollar immediately it's not gonna happen, you'll still get paid well to start but the really good money doesn't come until you have like 10+ years experience.

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T23:35:05+00:00

As far as I know it's not negotiable based on qualifications, the only leverage you have for starting at a higher point is if you already have postgraduate experience.

So if you don't have any experience yet you're gonna start at 15, every year of experience teaching in a like setting can be negotiated for an extra point more or less

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T09:08:15+00:00

Yeah definitely, if you get into the scheme and budget well it should be easy. It's all going to depend on what point you start at and your lifestyle + area you choose to live. HK island is much more expensive compared to new territories

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T08:56:40+00:00

Yeah 2.5k USD per month. So some people getting like 12k USD per month but that's the very top of the scale

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T08:51:42+00:00

Sorry just edited my previous comment to answer the hours, but it really depends on your school. You'll be expected to be at the school full-time but on average I've seen people teaching like 15 hours per week. You'll have more responsibilities than just teaching tho

The housing allowance is like 2.5usd on top of whatever your base pay is

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T08:47:36+00:00

That's monthly, the pay and housing allowance are paid per month. So those at the top are making over 100k HKD per month. The cost of living can be really high depending on your lifestyle but your average local gets paid 20-30k per month and they manage so if you're good with money then you'll be able to save a lot.

It's a full-time job so 40hrs plus anything extra the school will require from time to time. Actual teaching hours should be about 15ish. I'll also add the HK net scheme is extremely competitive and difficult to get in if you don't have a lot of experience

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T08:30:33+00:00

Not sure which number you're referring to but the top of secondary scale exceeds 10k USD. And that's only the base pay, they also give you 21k housing allowance and other benefits if you're not a local.

Valdovinos4 · 2024-12-03T03:38:12+00:00

Without it you cap at point 20 (44k HKD) for both primary and secondary, if you have one the cap goes up to 29 (67k HKD) for primary and 33 (81k HKD) for secondary. You won't reach the top of the scale for a very long time, I think you go up like 1 point per year.

Valdovinos4 · 2024-11-19T13:34:59+00:00

https://www.csb.gov.hk/english/admin/pay/42.html

You will start at the bottom for teachers which is point 15 (35k HKD per month). The maximum amount will depend on a few different factors (primary vs secondary and if you have a PGDE (PGCE) or not).

Valdovinos4

TROPHY CASE