More French language teachers are needed in BC

More French teachers are needed in British Columbia schools because there are not enough "qualified" French teachers to meet the growing demand, according to a recent Vancouver Sun article.

The article cited a report published by the Canadian Parents for French, which notes that French Immersion enrollment has continuously increased for 14 years.  Last year 46,900 students were registered in French Immersion, which equates to 8.1% of overall student enrollment in the province.

And even though there are 40 districts that offer French Immersion programs, many have set-up lottery systems to select students, because districts' programs are unable to meet the demand.

The increase in demand in French teachers can also been seen with the number of French teacher job postings on Makeafuture.ca.  In 2012, over 260 job postings for French teachers were posted on Makeafuture.ca—a 67% increase from the last year.

Despite the number of job opportunities available, many of these positions remain unfilled.  Several BC school districts have even traveled outside of the province to recruit French teachers from universities in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

Currently, there are 39 French Immersion and FSL job postings on Makeafuture.ca.