Bob Barlas joined Search Associates in 1994 after an overseas education career beginning in 1971 which led him to counseling, teaching and administering at The United World College of South East Asia in Singapore, The Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in China, Sri Lanka's Overseas Children School, as well as schools in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
In 1996, Bob, who is currently the longest serving Senior Associate resident in Canada, founded Search Associates' Toronto Job Fair which still caters to interns, teachers and administrators from Canada and the North Central U. S. A. He has also been been jointly responsible for Search Associates' annual European and Bethesda Fairs .He is also the author of the Teaching Overseas Handbook, which has sold more than five hundred copies per year to interested overseas teaching candidates since 1991, and 12 commercially published cross cultural travel books.
Bob holds a B.A. (Honours) and an M.Ed. in Counseling from Queens University, Kingston, Ontario and has specialized throughout his career in working with children and adults in cross-cultural situations, especially with those who are living - or wish to live - outside their own home countries.
On the personal front, Bob has two children, both of whom were born overseas, and four wonderful grandchildren. He currently lives in Stirling, Ontario with his wife, Nancy.
Bob Barlas is interested in hearing from any educator within Canada who is interested in the possibility of working overseas. Drawing on his 17 years of experience in placing teachers overseas with Search, Bob enjoys working one on one with everyone from experienced overseas educators to those who are just beginning to explore broadening their professional careers in this way. Bob's office is small enough that he always works one on one with his candidates, so those who contact him can be assured that the necessary mentoring will always be tailored to the needs of each individual.
Bob also maintains personal and professional relationships both with many of his former clients, several of whom are now in Senior Headships, and also with the educational organisations of which he himself was once associated, including the Faculties of Education at several Canadian universities and the Principal's Councils in various provinces. These contacts are used extensively in the recruitment of educators for International Schools.
Bob will also conduct customised searches for schools which require specifically Canadian qualified administrators on request, and is also advisor to a Canadian based group of entrepreneurs whose goal is to establish a number of Canadian curriculum schools worldwide over the next few years.
For those who are unable to attend one of his periodic workshops for individual groups and organisations who wish to learn more about the logistics of teaching and working overseas, for a number of years Bob has also written and published The Teaching Overseas Information Handbook, which is intended as a primer for those educators who want further information about the whole range of overseas teaching possibilities before committing themselves to a detailed search. The Handbook is available in an electronic version (for a small fee) on application to Bob Barlas' office - the latest revised version is November 2011.
- During the school year, Bob will be holding occasional informational workshops and webinars for both teacher and administrative candidates in the Toronto region. Please contact him directly for further details on dates and times.
