Job Discussion Forums

[missmac]

This year I will be leaving Sydney to move to France and fulfil a lifetime ambition of living there and learning the language. Je suis tres passionnee!! I have a UK passport so no problems with working visa, but wanted to get some information from the board members about teaching Business English.

I have a business degree and and MBA, and have spent the past 15 years working in multinational corporations. This included some time in Asia where I learned to run meetings and presentations with colleagues whose English was less than fluent.

I now need to decide whether to take the Cambridge CELTA to make me more employable. My question is, when schools are looking for business English teachers, is the teaching qualification more important, the business qualification, or both??

[Luder]

Very, very few employers in France--even language schools--know what CELTA, TEFL, TESOL or any of those qualifications are. Your MBA will more than enough to get you a job.

[rahram]

missmac,

I'm similar to you in that I have a business degree and a decade of experience working in multinational corporations.

I think Luder is right in that your MBA will be sufficient in getting you a job, but you would probably find that getting a certification will be very beneficial for you personally in the classroom. It will help you feel like you really know what you're doing when it comes to the teaching aspect. The combination of both will make you a stellar candidate wherever you go!

Good luck with your move and amuse-toi bien en France!