Page 38 - ELG1705 May Issue 447

INTERVIEW

Vicky Fairley, co-founder of ELT
recruitment platform Te .com,
explores the latest trends in
recruitment in the sector
The world of

opportunity

ow did you get into ELT? What can schools and companies do better to improve
Working in an admin post within a language school their chances of recruiting good teachers?
in London, I made the decision that teaching was the Teacher recruitment has changed dramatically in the last few years.
career for me. After qualifying I moved to teach in Almost all employers now recruit via the web. There is tremendous
HCordoba, Spain, then on to Bahrain with the British competition amongst recruiters for the best teachers. That said, we’re
Council as a locally employed teacher. Nine years later I was centre seeing a ratio of 100+ teacher applications for each job in Europe
director of the Council’s English Centre. From here I moved back and 50–100+ for posts in the Middle and Far East, so competition
to Spain as director of the British Council Centres in Oviedo and is stiff for the jobseeker. Online applications have become the norm
Granada. In 1997, along with my business partner, we launched Tefl. in recruitment and at Tefl.com we try to keep form-filling to the
com. minimum whilst providing the employer with the most complete
What is the current market like for ELT jobs and where candidate information possible. Some recruiters still require applicants
is the demand? who have applied via the Tefl.com system to also apply within their
Despite Brexit on the horizon, the ELT jobs market is currently own corporate system. However, this can dissuade candidates from
buoyant in the UK, especially in the summer teaching sector. applying. As we continue developing our system, we will be addressing
Internationally we’re seeing an almost 20 per cent rise in teaching this issue to enable the recruiter to get the pertinent data required, but
vacancies compared with 2016. China remains the country with the also to reduce jobseeker form-filling.
greatest demand for teachers, with the big language course providers What developments have surprised you most in terms of
such as Disney and EF competing with smaller language schools for recruitment?
the best teachers. Many jobs are also available in public schools and An interesting aside to teacher recruitment is that we’re noticing a
international school groups. demand for experienced ELT specialists for non-ELT roles, e.g. digital
For the European teacher, Spain continues to be the most managers, sales and marketing posts, publishing editors,
popular destination and the country with the most science teachers in independent schools – and
jobs. The majority of Spanish schools recruiting even governesses. Compared with teaching
at Tefl.com tend to be small to medium assignments, these posts can be very
independent academies rather than the large Despite Brexit on the lucrative indeed. For example, a current
international language groups. horizon, the ELT jobs’ market governess post in the UAE is offering
We’re also seeing a demand for $50,000 to $70,000 tax free per annum.
‘language assistants’ who are employed is currently buoyant in the What impact has technology
in Spanish state schools following the UK especially in the summer had on the recruitment of
Spanish national school curriculum. teaching sector teachers?
These posts usually appeal to teachers who As we’re all aware, technology has made
are just starting out in their careers. Free a huge impact on the recruitment process.
Tefl certification is sometimes included as well as We now have a generation of young teachers who
free accommodation with a host family and a monthly have grown up with the internet. Their expectations
stipend. are that much, if not most, of the recruitment process will be online,
Further afield, the Vietnam jobs market is seeing significant from initial CV/resume submission to (in the case of overseas jobs) a
growth, with the major groups, such as ILA, Wall Street and Apollo, Skype interview. Over 30 per cent of the job applications which come
offering many teaching and management roles. Celta or Trinity through our system now originate from mobile devices, hence our
certification and a degree are usually the minimum qualifications for decision to launch Job Search Tefl.com, an app for iPhone, iPad and
posts in Vietnam. Due to visa restrictions, candidates usually need to Android. The app enables the jobseeker to search and apply for jobs
be from an English-speaking country. on the go with just a few screen taps.
Over the past couple of years the online teaching sector has What developments do you see in recruitment or HR that
exploded around the world. Currently we’re seeing almost 800 will affect ELT in the next few years?
positions alone for online teachers. Most are on a ‘work from home’ Tefl.com has been using social media for a number of years. All
basis, however some posts require online teaching staff in-country jobs featured on our website and app are also posted to social media.
One of the major online English providers, 51Talk, a company This sharing of posts has had a profound effect on the success of
headquartered in the Philippines, is currently seeking teachers to recruitment campaigns. The recent launch (in the US and Canada)
satisfy the huge demand for online teachers in the China young of Facebook jobs is an interesting development that will have
learners sector. In Europe, Learnship Networks is looking for online implications for all involved in recruitment.
business trainers. Remuneration for most online posts tends to be on
an hourly or per unit basis. Job Search TEFL.com the App for iPhone, iPad and Android is available
from the iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store.

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