Written by Econintersect
By now you’ve probably seen your fair share of Instagram posts from folks who’ve traveled to Malta. Perhaps you’ve even day-dreamed about the possibility of traveling there yourself one day, where your days would be filled with sand, surf, diving, and tanning.
But, bills must be paid and a living earned.
The good news? Among the latest jobs in Malta are numerous English teaching vacancies thanks to a growing need for teachers in the country.
This is one of the easiest jobs to get in Malta, granted you have the right qualifications. Read on as we give you a breakdown of what you need to do to find a job teaching in the jewel of the Mediterranean, and what you can expect in the way of remuneration, working hours, etc.
1. TEFL outweighs a degree in private schools:
The teaching degree is not necessary when applying to be a private teacher in Malta. However, doing a TEFL course before applying would give you the needed credit to be considered for a teaching post and will aid you irrespective of where in the world you teach. To guarantee yourself the post, ensure that your TEFL certificate is obtained through an accredited university.
2. Experience for private language schools:
Experience in teaching surely does help but is not really a requirement when applying for a private teaching job in Malta. You can be hired with barely any experience.
3. International versus private schools:
Despite getting hired with limited experience and a TEFL certificate, international schools only hire teachers with a teaching degree and experience. Private languages are your best place to apply if you don’t possess both the degree and experience, but lesser pay is offered at these schools than at international schools.
4. Foolish versus sensible:
A foolish move would be to move to Malta first and then go job scouting. Teaching in Malta only occurs when you get a work permit. A work permit needs to be secured with a job offer. The sensible thing would be to track jobs online first. Jobs can be easily obtained by searching online for jobs.
Thereafter send CVs to the schools you have found. Word of mouth works best when trying to find jobs in Malta so listen to all those relatives that tell you about schools looking for prospective teachers. Most of the jobs you will find will be in towns like St Julian being the starting point for your application.
5. Application time:
You can generally send in your application throughout the year but bear in mind that the school year in Malta is between mid-June until mid- September. This means that the bulk of the teacher’s application and appointment process for teachers will occur between April and September. However, don’t hold back apply whenever you feel like making the move.
6. Working hours:
When in Malta, working hours are generally hard to define as they vary. Weekly hours would account between 20 to 40 hours weekly but one can expect to work both mornings and afternoons, just mornings, afternoons only or even just evenings. Summer is usually the busiest time for teachers especially for those working solely at private language schools.
7. Salary:
Like with all jobs exact salary is hard to determine before you secure the job. One would expect to earn about 10 Euros as an hourly rate which is not too bad and in line with minimum wage. Your earning potential can be anything from 850 Euros to 1000 Euros but this would depend upon where you secure your job. The cost of living in Malta, in general, seems relatively high so, its best to do considerable research on everything before you leave. For instance, work out the cost of a cup of tea and determine how much tea you would consume within a month and relate that to your salary.
8. Actually working in Malta:
All this sounds well and good but one needs to secure a job first too actually get the work permit necessary to work in Malta. Once a job is secured, a work permit and visa can be applied for via your employer. Thereafter a teaching permit needs to be obtained. This is essential when you actually start teaching in the country and can be available from the Maltese Education Department. The TEFL certificate will ensure you are provided with a permit.
Are you ready to teach in Malta? Make sure you have your Malta cake and eat it while there…