February 14–16th, Senior Associate Bill Turner and his wife and Search Executive Assistant Alison hosted the annual Search Dubai Job Fair, where 159 candidates had a chance to meet representatives from 33 schools. What makes Search Dubai distinctive is the large pool of well-qualified and experienced international teachers living close by and working in top international schools who attend. This year, participants discussed 243 job postings. Candidate Ksenia Smirnova expressed her satisfaction:
"Thank you for the opportunity to participate at Dubai Job fair! . . . It was my first job fair, and I learned a lot about schools around the world and talked to many different teachers and principals. It was a great experience and professional development, as you [had] mentioned in one of your emails.”
As opposed to a big hotel, this year, Bill held the fair at Deira International School (DIS) in Festival City, Dubai. Search Associates (SEARCH) was welcomed to DIS by new Principal Ruth Burke. DIS is a large, beautifully-resourced, and welcoming school, which runs a British curriculum plus the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Social events took place in the Holiday Inn and the Intercon, alongside the beautiful Dubai Creek. Regarding the venue, Principal at Al Sahwa Schools, Muscat, Oman Garth Kitching said,
"Thank you very much for the organisation and planning that went into this Dubai Fair. We have had a debate about the pros and cons of holding it in a school and will complete the survey in time, but we are very sure of this point: having a dedicated space to ourselves brought a new level of professional engagement to the fair.”
SEARCH’s Director of School Relations David Cope and his London team joined Bill and Alison in the U.A.E. to provide support and guidance to all participants. Also on hand to offer advice were four local school principals—all experienced SEARCH users—and Leadership Coach Nick McKie. The teamwork present at Search Dubai Fair evidences how SEARCH maintains its excellent reputation for providing personal assistance.
For more about SEARCH’s 13 unique job fairs held each year around the world, click here.
