South African teachers as mobile knowledge workers in a global labour market
Globally, the popularity of South African teachers is increasing. The recruitment of South African teachers has become an easy solution to fix a shortage of teachers in many industrialised countries. It is being speculated that the aggressive recruitment has a negative impact on South Africa as a source country. This theoretical study addresses South African teachers’ motives for migration, marketing strategies of recruitment agencies, the implications for South African teachers due to the revised migration policies of the United Kingdom, and the impact of teacher migration on the South African education system. Career dissatisfaction, poor salaries and unemployment were identified as push factors. Higher salaries, international teaching experience, family or friends overseas, travel opportunities and recruitment agency persuasion were identified as pull factors. Recruitment agencies are using several methods to recruit teachers such as direct marketing activities on university campuses, online marketing, newspapers and magazines. Online ‘pitching’ to schools and teachers is discussed. It is predicted that South African teachers will seek greener pastures (especially the United Arab Emirates) due to the implementation of the recent United Kingdom Youth Mobility Scheme. South Africa’s education system is being stifled by international recruitment. Huge loss of teachers to receiving countries has a serious negative impact upon the education system of South Africa.
Teachers and the global knowledge economy : research article
This article describes and analyses the growing trend of teachers as mobile knowledge workers in the global labour market. It is widely recognised that the task of small countries of fulfilling the increasing demands of universal primary education under Education for All (EFA) has reached crisis proportions. With a more flexible labour market, teacher shortages are threatening the ability of governments to reach internationally agreed targets to expand and improve education quality and access. In this article we show that foreign teachers are increasingly used to address domestic teaching shortages and suggest that this problem is not merely a result of short supply, but rather a complex interaction of processes that occur at national and international policy levels. We argue that massive international investment is needed in supporting teacher training and recruitment, but also in retainment and better overall support of teachers in schools. Poor policy planning around teacher development and support come at great cost to the education system and to the children they serve. Finally, we advocate the strengthening and expansion of international frameworks (such as the Protocol for the Recruitment of Commonwealth Teachers) to protect the rights of teachers to migrate internationally as well as to ensure adequate investments by governments and the international community to deliver quality education.
Contractor Failure: Analysis
The possibility exists for any construction contractor to fail to filfill the contract requirements associated with a facility. Contractor failure occurs when a contractor is unable to perform his/her contractual duties, thus requiring the facility owner to invoke the contract's nonperformance clause. This paper provides aggregate contractor business failure statistics and outlines potential causes for failure. A framework to identify and quantify the associated costs is also introduced. Several case studies are presented to examine the cause and cost of failure and the means by which the facilities were completed. Alternatives available for project completion when contractor failure occurs are discussed. Recommendations to identify and monitor contractors at high risk for failure are outlined as well. This paper provides facility owners with a greater awareness of the possibility of contractor failure, how to quantify costs of contractor failure, and avoidance techniques.