After consulting with a wide range of school recruiters and teacher candidates as well as researching the current need in the region, Search Associates has decided to host its first job fair in and for the Latin America region this coming recruiting season. Fair organizer and Senior Associate Bridget McNamer announced the event will be held at the Radisson Royal Hotel in Bogota, Colombia on February 20-22, 2015. According to Bridget,
"We've done a good deal of due diligence about best timing and location of the fair. We wanted to keep it early enough in the recruiting season to still meet the needs of recruiters and candidates, but not compete with other fairs which schools in the region would likely attend as well. The location, Bogota, an interesting destination itself, rose to the top of our list for this initial fair, with its ease of transportation from other areas, good hotel facilities, and a cluster of strong international schools there in the city."
Though Search currently works with international schools and educators throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean, the fair aims to help meet the recruiting needs of schools operating on the northern-hemisphere calendar in those areas. While reducing recruiting costs and travel time for attendees, the in-region fair will provide a venue for recruiters to access candidates who are strongly interested in this part of the world and who likely have experience in the region already. Additionally, the event will help recruiters fill late vacancies that remain open after the AASSA and other recruiting fairs.
Schools invited to the Bogota fair must be members of Search Associates. Also invited will be registered Search candidates, including K-12 teachers, administrators, counselors, and librarians with native English fluency and/or strong English proficiency with clear accents.
Since 1991, Search Associates has helped nearly 26,000 educators find positions in international K-12 schools, making us the largest and most successful recruitment organization in international education with a lengthy track record of successful job fairs around the world. The inaugural job fair in Bogota this coming February will offer a strong arm of support for international schools in the region and good career opportunities for teachers there, which they might not otherwise have had.
