Guide · updated 2026-10-16
Agency, recruitment fair or applying direct: how each route works
Platforms register you online, fairs put you in front of recruiters in person, and direct applications go straight to the school. GOV.UK says UK agencies cannot charge work-finding fees, so question any fee you are asked to pay.
Teachers who want an international post usually end up choosing between three routes: registering with an agency or online platform, attending a recruitment fair, or applying straight to the school. None is the single right answer. Each moves cost, effort and risk to a different place.
This guide describes how the three routes work using what the organisers say on their own sites, plus GOV.UK on what agencies may charge. We do not rank the organisations named. Read each one's current terms before you register.
How a recruitment fair works, in the organiser's words
Search Associates describes two routes on its Australia and New Zealand site: its online database and in-person job fairs. It calls fairs one of the most successful ways for international school teachers to find work over the past 30 years. The benefits it lists are meeting school representatives face to face, informal conversations, recruiters remembering you for later openings and tailored advice.
The drawbacks it lists are travel costs, intense short-term pressure and no guarantee of an interview. It says fairs are capped in size and fill quickly, that an invitation to a fair is included with registration, and that specialist teachers such as music, science or IB subject teachers have better odds than English and ESL teachers. That last point is the organiser's view, not independent data.
How an online platform or agency works
Teach Away's job board page says you create an account and can then apply to jobs, with openings listed at international schools, government programmes, universities and language colleges in over 40 countries. The page does not say whether using the job board costs teachers anything, so check the terms before you sign up.
Search Associates' database route works through a school connecting with you online, interviewing by video and offering a job. Its own page lists saving time and money as the advantage, and no face-to-face networking as the drawback.
What GOV.UK says about fees
GOV.UK's guidance for employment agencies says an agency cannot charge a work-seeker a fee for work-finding services. It also says agencies may charge for extras such as CV writing, but the terms must sit in a separate document given before the service starts, using the service cannot be a condition of being found work, and the work-seeker must be able to cancel without penalty.
The page does not address overseas placements specifically, so if an organisation asks you to pay for registration, a fair place or a package, ask what the money buys, who is charging it, and which country's rules the organisation says apply.
Applying direct to a school
COBIS runs a Global Jobs page where its member schools can post vacancies for free. The page says applicants to COBIS schools must be willing to undergo child protection screening, which includes checks with past employers and criminal background checks. It also points to recruiters who are COBIS Supporting Associates, so the page covers both direct and recruiter-led routes.
A direct application means you deal with the school without an intermediary. It also means you do more of the checking yourself. Read the school's own careers page, find its latest inspection report, and ask the school about contract length and what housing and flights it provides before you accept.
Timing across all three routes
Teacher Horizons, a recruitment platform, says most schools in the UAE advertise from October for an August start, with the busiest window running October to February. If you are hoping for an August start, plan to register, collect references and begin attesting documents in the autumn.
For fairs, the Search Associates piece suggests registering early because fairs fill quickly.
Questions teachers ask
Should I pay a fee to register with an agency?
GOV.UK says UK employment agencies cannot charge work-seekers for work-finding services, though they can sell optional extras under separate terms. Ask in writing what any fee covers and whether the service is optional.
Do I have to attend a recruitment fair in person?
Search Associates says its fairs are in person, and that a database route exists for people who prefer to interview by video. It lists travel costs and no guarantee of an interview as drawbacks of fairs.
Can I use all three routes at once?
None of the organiser pages we cite says you cannot. Keep a list of where you have applied, so you do not apply to the same school twice through different routes, and read each organiser's terms.
How do I find vacancies posted by schools themselves?
COBIS Global Jobs lets member schools post vacancies for free. Many schools also list roles on their own careers pages, which you can find through the school's website.
Are fairs better for some subjects?
Search Associates says specialist teachers, for example in music, science or IB subjects, have better odds than English and ESL teachers. That is the organiser's statement. Ask a fair organiser how many schools are hiring in your subject.