Vancouver School Board, desperate for French teachers, starts recruiting in Montreal

The Vancouver School Board is in desperate need of French immersion teachers, and representatives on a cross-country tour to recruit qualified candidates are stopping by the McGilleducation career fairMonday.

As of January, the VSBhad 34 open teaching positions, including 12 French immersion jobs.

"We have the largest Frenchimmersion program in the province," saidCheryl Douglas, manager of recruitment at the VSB. "Many parents are eager to be in it."

Last year, Vancouver began hiring large numbers of teachers to meet new provincialclass size and composition rules, which required more than 2,000 teachers to be hired acrossBritish Columbia.

• 'We're still working out the kinks': Teacher shortage top concern 1 year after Supreme Court decision

Douglas will be speaking with students at the career fair Monday afternooninan effort to entice them to apply for jobs across the country.

"Vancouveris an easy sell," she said. "It'sa small but vibrantFrancophonecommunity."

But she admitted the board has more trouble attracting and keeping teachers than other parts of BC because the cost of living is so high.

That's why they are offering a $1,500 moving allowance to teachers willing to come from outside of the province.

She said that some of the French immersion classes are currently being covered by vice-principals, teacher librarians and substitutes.

Schools are so keen to get the positions filled that some principals and teachers have taken to offering extra rooms in their homes as temporaryaccommodation,she explained.

• B.C. still has hundreds of teaching vacancies with school year weeks away

Permanent jobs up for grabs

Vronique Gingras, who works at McGill Career and Planning Services and organized the event, told CBC that demand is high for French teachers right now.

"I received a lot of requests for the fair this year from out-of-province school boards," she said. "Students are more and more willing to go out of province," she noted.

For teachers in Montreal, at some of the most competitive school boards, it can take as long as five years to get a permanent job according to Gingras.

• 'We're doing the best we can': French immersion teacher shortage in Canada a chronic and stressful problem

Fiona Benson, who teaches in the McGilldepartment of integrated studies in education, says the need for French immersion teachers isn't limited to B.C., but can be seen across the country.

She said of the 68 groups presenting at the career fair, about half of them aiming to woo potential future employees come from outside Quebec.

"It's a lovely and very rich mix of opportunities both from within Quebec, across Canada and beyond," she said.