Job Discussion Forums

[MrsMonkey]

Hi all,
I've recently passed i-to-i's 120-hour online TEFL course package thingy, which I enrolled on because they ensured me it was a valid, worthy qualification that would be useful in Europe.

I'm now trying to find work in Greece, Italy, Prague, Spain and France and constantly being told that it's not a proper qualification. i-to-i aren't being helpful at all � they keep telling me 'plenty' of their students have found schools in Europe that accept their qualification, but they haven't managed to find a single real example for me yet. They're also failing to call or email me back any more.

What can I do? Have I just wasted about �400 on a useless course? Can anyone suggest how or where else I should be looking for employment?

[spiral78]

I'm assuming you're from the UK and it is therefore not a problem with an employer being unable to get you a work permit.

I've been in the European region for 12+ years now and can say with a fair degree of certainty that online certs are considered substandard in most of the region by reputable employers.

CELTA is the name brand, but generic courses also make the grade. The key to acceptable courses is supervised teaching practice with actual students. Online certs by definition don't offer this.

The job market at newbie level is fairly competitive in all the areas you mention, and employers simply don't need to consider an applicant (especially from abroad) with a lesser cert than most of their applicants will have.

Consider Prague, as an example. The city's got 5 or 6 training centres, all 120+ hours onsite, including the supervised teaching practice. It's highly unlikely that someone from abroad with an online cert would land anything with a reputable school in this job market.

Another issue to consider is that European employers rarely hire from abroad. They really need to see you standing in their offices, CV in hand, looking professional and reliable before they'll give you a thought. The start-up costs of coming over and getting set up in a city are your own, in this job market.

Sorry, but i-to-i has great advertising....

[MrsMonkey]

Yes, i-to-i certainly wins on the advertising front. Pretty darn substandard on the product description element mind. Am just going through their in-house recruitment system for positions in Prague though so you never know what might come up.

I also intend to fork out for a residential CELTA course now, just wish they'd been straight with me at the consultation stage. Sigh.

[mozzar]

Yeah, everyday my academy is interviewing new teachers to see if there are any new ones that stand out as amazing, not because they need to hire someone desperately.

[spiral78]

Am just going through their in-house recruitment system for positions in Prague though so you never know what might come up.

Yes - maybe something could come up....but - I suggest you read through some of the current posts on the Czech Rep forum (it's just down the list from this one) regarding the current job market there. It's seriously tight all round...I'd be surprised if i-to-i were able to hook you up with anything decent there. I'd be interested to hear how this works out!

[Justin Trullinger]

[powerrose]

Teach in Asia instead.

[MrsMonkey]

I have thought about Asia but I'd only really be interested in Hong Kong - something to look into I guess. That said, I have just been invited to an interview for a position in Thailand.