{"id":75923,"date":"2025-05-05T07:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/75923\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T07:49:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:49:23","slug":"were-25-and-middle-management-a-lot-of-friends-at-home-are-still-sub-teaching-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/75923\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019re 25 and middle management. A lot of friends at home are still sub teaching\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

When her alarm goes off at 5.30am, Emma Ruddy wakes to sunlight peeking through the curtains in her Qatar<\/a> apartment. The Co Down<\/a>-born teacher looks out on to the blue waters of Lusail marina from her bedroom window; directly below is an infinity pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an early start but when you pull the blind open and see that view, it\u2019s an instant mood booster,\u201d she says, beaming.<\/p>\n

It is a vista far removed from the Holylands student area of Belfast<\/a>, where she once shared a house that had \u201clittle bits of mould and damp in our rooms\u201d and broken heating.<\/p>\n

Ruddy (25) is among a growing number of Northern graduates opting to move to the Middle East for work and a new life. Tax-free salaries, perpetual sunshine (it rains for about a week each year) and free accommodation are tempting newly qualified teachers away from home.<\/p>\n

The package enticements \u2013 free healthcare is also offered \u2013 have led Ruddy and her friend and colleague Niamh McAleer to agree an extension to their contract at a school in the coastal city of Lusail, the second largest after Doha.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0A \u20ac2,000 refund for teaching graduates may just go towards their flight to AustraliaOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Today, the pair are speaking to The Irish Times from outside their classrooms during a free period; they had a 6.40am start will finish at 2.30pm. It is midmorning and 38 degrees but they look relaxed, wearing long-sleeved tops in the air-conditioned building.<\/p>\n

Platters of Greek food are being prepared behind them for school assembly, with dozens of children dressed in traditional Greek costumes for the day\u2019s theme.<\/p>\n

McAleer, who grew up on Boa Island, at the northern end of Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh, initially signed up for a short-term job after graduating from St Mary\u2019s University College, a teacher training college in west Belfast, three years ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came out to Qatar, I always thought it would be for one year. I\u2019ve now signed on for my fourth year, I\u2019ve loved it so much,\u201d says McAleer, who shares the apartment with Ruddy.<\/p>\n

\"NorthenNorthen teachers Niamh McAleer and Emma Ruddy. Of the 76 teaching staff at their school, almost 30 are Irish, mainly from the North <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re on a timetable with set subjects. You might have an Arabic teacher for your second lesson, meaning they will come into your class and take your children. You\u2019ll have 50 minutes for prep time or to take a breather. So I have three free periods today; I\u2019ve time to prepare lessons and courses for next week. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe start early but there\u2018s so much to do in the evening. We go to the beach, the pool, jet-ski \u2013 there\u2018s so many water sports \u2013 and the food is amazing. Whereas at home, you\u2019re not finishing until 5pm and your evening is done. Because the days are longer [here], you tend to fill them more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the move was a \u201cno-brainer\u201d for the pair after they failed to secure permanent teaching jobs in Northern Ireland, according to Ruddy. The North\u2019s education sector has been beset by funding cuts for more than a decade, leading to teachers taking industrial action over pay and conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a bit of a whisper around college about Doha for a while. My brother had moved out and a couple of others the year above us,\u201d says Ruddy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTowards the end of uni, you start to realise that you might have to go sub teaching. Having a job with a tax-free salary is one of the main benefits out here. Accommodation is paid for too. If you were getting a house in Dublin or Belfast, you have to pay your deposit and rent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaking up in the sunshine, having an earlier start and an earlier finish with work, was automatic appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof Peter Finn, who heads St Mary\u2019s University College, first noticed the emerging trend in 2016 when a company that owns schools in Qatar \u201cfound their way to our Open Day on the Falls Road\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

When these people eventually come home, just think of the competencies and the insights they will bring to work as teachers on their return … These graduates have lived with Islam for the last three years and understand it in a very positive way<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Prof Peter Finn<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe story goes that at the graduation that summer, I was going around shaking hands, asking where they were going and I heard \u2018Qatar\u2019. So I let one go, and then after about six, I thought, \u2018there\u2018s something going on here that I need to know about\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Finn went to Qatar last year to visit the school where more than 20 of his former students had worked. One of the first to approach him was Niamh McAleer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis young woman from Boa Island came bounding toward me, and it was just the incongruity of the situation. She was as natural. That\u2019s what I really liked \u2013 she was completely and absolutely at home at where she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

While concerns have been raised about increasing numbers of Northern graduates working abroad, Finn points to the benefits.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0More than 4,600 Irish teachers working abroad as schools at home struggle with staff shortages – studyOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen these people eventually come home, just think of the competencies and the insights they will bring to work as teachers on their return. We\u2018re now living in a multicultural Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine their understanding of Islam compared to the understanding of the average man on the street? These graduates have lived with Islam for the last three years and understand it in a very positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Missing her family is the biggest downside for McAleer and she travels home up to four times a year during term leave. She admits her parents were \u201ca bit hesitant\u201d about the move.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they came out to visit me and saw how settled I was,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Accusations of human rights abuses and violation of migrant workers before Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup<\/a> dogged the country throughout the tournament. Religious and cultural differences were also a concern for the two friends before their departure.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0More than a million call on Fifa to finally compensate migrant workers in QatarOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were apprehensive at the beginning but became familiar with the customs very quickly. It\u2019s really only if you\u2019re going to certain places, like a mosque or school or cultural areas, then you know you have to cover your shoulders and knees,\u201d Ruddy says.<\/p>\n

A visit by Ruddy\u2019s parents during her first year resulted in them leaving their own jobs and moving out; her father \u2013 a vice-principal in Co Down for 30 years \u2013 is now a principal at a large school and her mother works for an Irish company remotely.<\/p>\n

Sport is a passion for McAleer, a former player with St Joesph\u2019s GAC in Ederney, Co Fermanagh, and she joined Qatar GAA on arrival. Training is twice a week, with up to 100 people attending at 8am on Friday mornings (the school weekends are Friday and Saturday).<\/p>\n

\n

We both got head-of-year jobs recently, so you do have the opportunity for career development. A lot of our friends are still sub teaching \u2013 that\u2019s three years on from graduating<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Niamh McAleer<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ruddy, who grew up in Newry, had never played Gaelic football but signed up; tournaments regularly take them to Dubai, a 30-minute plane journey away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a big Irish community out here now. At weekends, you have football, camogie, hurling, Irish language committees and coffee mornings,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Of the 76 teaching staff at their school, almost 30 are Irish and mainly from the North. There has also been a recent influx of graduates from the Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds as if we only socialise with Irish people, but we\u2018ve met people from all over the world,\u201d laughs McAleer. \u201cPeople have the mindset of \u2018let\u2019s travel\u2019. So on your March or October midterm holidays, you do travel.\u201d Zanzibar, Bali, South Africa, Abu Dhabi and Oman have been among their trips. \u201cBecause Dubai is so close, we\u2018ll go there for the weekend,\u201d says Ruddy.<\/p>\n

Job promotions have cemented their decision to remain for at least another year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both got head-of-year jobs recently, so you do have the opportunity for career development. We\u2019re 25 years old and now middle management in our school,\u201d says McAleer. \u201cA lot of our friends are still sub teaching \u2013 that\u2019s three years on from graduating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finishing their week, the pair are making plans for the weekend now that the football season is over. <\/p>\n

Brunch lasts from 12.30pm to 4pm on a Friday, says Ruddy with a smile. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt home you get up in the winter, it\u2019s cold, and have to defrost your car. It\u2019s lovely to wake up now, throw on your swimwear, hop in the lift and go down to the pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the job security in Qatar that drew us \u2013 and then of course the lifestyle. It\u2019s hard to leave that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When her alarm goes off at 5.30am, Emma Ruddy wakes to sunlight peeking through the curtains in her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[2378,37450,2721,1144,6860,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-75923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-belfast","9":"tag-classroom-central","10":"tag-dubai","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-qatar","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114454132390860825","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}