Dear Teach Away,

“How can I be a qualified teacher to teach in European countries? I am currently working with the Ministry of Education in UAE.”

Hi there!

Europe is one of the most popular countries for teaching abroad – which certainly makes it a competitive process for international candidates!

Most European countries, particularly on the Western side, will require you to have a teaching license/certification from your home country and a minimum of 2 years of licensed experience. 

That means after obtaining your license, you have taught as a licensed teacher in a classroom. Part-time tutoring, and other jobs where you are managing children in a non-education setting, will not count as valid experience in this case.

It’s great that you’re already teaching abroad in the United Arab Emirates. European schools will surely find this to be valuable experience considering the high standards of international schools in the UAE

While you didn’t mention a specific location in Europe, you are likely to find international schools in any European country – so it’s just a matter of determining where you are interested in living.


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Back to our point about teaching jobs in Europe being competitive… these are highly sought after jobs that experience little turnover. So don’t be surprised if you have difficulty finding an abundance of opportunities.

European countries also prefer teachers who hold an EU passport and are likely to hire those teachers over non-EU passport holders.

On our job board, you’ll find our international school partners mainly hire for teach abroad opportunities in Spain, Poland, Italy, and Hungary. We recommend checking out these countries first.

Good luck with your search!

Your friends at Teach Away


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