Spain to Ireland: how two early years teachers found job opportunities in another country

Johanny Rodriguez turned to EURES when she couldn’t find a full-time teaching job in Spain. She was introduced to Wexford-based Faylinn Montessori School and Creche at a recruitment fair in Barcelona in June 2024 organised by Ireland’s Department of Social Protection and EURES Spain.

Zoom interviews were followed by a face-to-face interview in Ireland. Finally, a job offer and a move to Ireland, all supported by EURES.

EURES helps to smooth the teachers’ transition

“EURES stands out due to its unwavering commitment to professional development, personal development and at the same time, it cares about helping us to find the best school according to our interests,” Johanny says. “Thanks to EURES and Faylinn, I have improved my English language skills, I have got to know another country and another culture, I have improved my CV and I had the honour to work with amazing children and people.”

Johanny recommends EURES to others. “At the beginning it is a bit difficult to dare to make such a radical change in your life, but EURES makes the challenge a bit easier, as it helps you in everything it can and tries to give you the security you are looking for, answering any questions or doubts you may have via email, phone or in person.”

Her colleague Laura Sáez Martínez says: “I am working in Ireland, in a small school in Wexford, and the truth is that I am happy and living one of the best experiences of my life. And this is partly thanks to the EURES programme.”

Laura says the EURES programme gave her both practical and financial help. EURES acted as an intermediary with the school, enabled her to visit the school before taking up the role and reviewed her contract. Financial support helped her to pay for flights and to cover the first month’s rent before her first salary was paid. “To be honest, when I first heard that I was going to receive so much help for going to work in a different country I thought it was not true at all, too good to be true, but I was very wrong – it was all completely true,” Laura adds.

EURES Spain and Ireland team up to meet need for early years educators

EURES Ireland Adviser Cathy Moran of Ireland’s Department of Social Protection leads a team working with more than 25 childcare companies from across Ireland that have vacancies they want to fill. Advisers at EURES Spain, led by manager Ana Carreras Bejar, advertise and promote the opportunities to candidates in a variety of Spanish regions through on-site, online and hybrid recruitment events. In 2023, 74 Spanish candidates moved to Ireland to take up early education roles around the country. As of July 2024, a further 59 people had taken the step.

Cathy says: “The Spanish team has been working tirelessly for the past three years promoting childcare vacancies for Irish companies. They collect and filter CVs from Spanish candidates which we then forward to the companies for consideration. In the past three years they have organised recruitment events for the childcare sector in Madrid, Seville, Malaga and Barcelona.

“In addition to all of this they and their EURES colleagues all over Spain have also assisted candidates to apply for the Targeted Mobility Scheme funding to help them to attend interviews and to relocate to work in Ireland. It is an absolute pleasure to work with this amazing team and it is thanks to their hard work and professionalism that so many Irish companies have been able to recruit excellent Spanish candidates to fill their vacancies.”

Faylinn’s Conor Ryan praised the quality of candidates and the support and networking opportunities offered through the event. “We found the recruitment fair to be highly beneficial. It provided us with access to a pool of talented and eager candidates, significantly enhancing our recruitment efforts. We commend the Department of Social Protection and the EURES Spain team for their excellent organisation and execution of the event.”

Related links:

EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme

Living and working in Ireland

Living and working in Spain

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European Job Days

Find EURES Advisers

Living and working conditions in EURES countries

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