The International Schools Review Forum

Does anyone know why AISR has so many math positions so early?

Is it a fear of ME conflict with Syria, Egypt, Iran, etc. or is it the school?

Thanks for any help.

I heard that Saudi Arabia is no longer giving work visas to spouses of people who come to Saudi for other reasons. They want Saudis to fill those positions. I am wondering if that is why Aramco has so many positions open. Any know about this for sure?

I can't answer your question about AISR. I haven't heard any news about work visas for spouses. Regarding your question about Aramco, I do not believe that is the reason for so many open positions. It is because the company is expanding - rapidly. More engineers and employees means more children. This year there were at least a few dozen new teaching positions across the five Aramco schools. Not teachers who replacing those who had left. NEW positions. From what we have been told, we can expect this rapid company expansion to continue for the next couple years. I would expect there to be many open positions this year and next year, possibly for subsequent years as well.

Overseasvet2 - to my knowledge Saudi has never given work visas for spouses unless the spouse is working. Teachers without a work visa are known as local hires and get none of the benefits of an overseas hire, such as accommodation or flights. They are also working illegally, but that's a whole other kettle of fish :-)

In Kuwait, I was sponsored by my school, but considered a local hire because of my wife's job. After two years when my wife's job ended, the school offered to flip me to a foreign hire contract, but we had already decided to leave.

I am currently in Saudi working at an international school. There is a big switchover happening right now with "local hires" meaning people who were living here and then got jobs--it applies to both licensed teachers and support staff. I'm new this fall so I don't fully understand all the ramifications, but it has to with schools having to sponsor the employee, where before a person could be sponsored by their spouse's company. There has been a big verification process, some staff have switched their sponsorships, and some can't switch due to their spouse's company requirements and/or benefits. It's complicated, but that may be why a larger number of positions might show up in KSA.

Saudi is a hardship location and they have a hard time recruiting, as recruiting season grows shorter they have far fewer options. Its in their interest to identify staff and sign them before recruiting gets more intense.

Saudi Arabia is great for saving money, there are no taxes and not much to spend on. Great to come in to erase debt, build nest egg. If you cannot stand sexism stay clear. Women are not allowed to drive.

Looking at the American School website (www.aisr.org) it appears there is only 1 math position open currently for next year.

What is Search showing?