Saudi Week

4 December begins our first ever Saudi Week. We have focus weeks when we feel a country or region has something to offer but is not as well understood as it should be.  I took my first trip to visit Saudi this autumn with my colleague Neil to see for myself what were the opportunities and challenges– for teachers, for visitors, and (speaking for myself) for women - and was astonished at changes embedded and the plans for the future.  The Saudi of 5 or 10 years ago is not the Saudi of today.  I did not wear a headscarf (though I did dress respectfully), we had our first woman Uber driver and all the Saudis we met were excited about the opportunities that the changes will bring to them. 

Salaries on average are higher than the rest of the region, new schools from well known brands are opening, and there’s a higher percentage of family friendly schools compared to the UAE. We even have some schools that will provide selected teachers with their ECT (UK probationary) year.
  
I know that not every country or region suits every teacher, but I think Saudi has much to offer international teachers who are focussed on savings and career development, so I hope you tune into our social media channels from 4 December (Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) to learn more about the New Saudi Arabia and decide for yourself.