Leading TEFL firm reveals remote teaching as a remedy to shrink in demand for UK English teachers in Europe
REMOTE working is remedying a decrease in demand for UK citizens teaching English in Europe following Brexit.
The world’s leading TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) firm, The TEFL Org, has revealed the emergence of a distinct trend with employers seeking EFL teachers who already have a right to work in Europe.
However, the firm has also witnessed a huge surge in Brits taking up online courses, allowing them to teach European students digitally from the UK – with a number of online teaching companies offering remote teaching opportunities for UK citizens.
Jennifer MacKenzie, Co-Founder of The TEFL Org, said: “Across Europe, in countries such as Spain, we’re seeing the majority of job adverts specifically request that teachers already have the right to work in the country.
“While it is early days and we can’t be sure of the long-term implications of Brexit, it is fair to say that withdrawing from the EU will change the general picture of English language teaching recruitment in Europe.
“Locality is now becoming a huge factor for employers. It’s easier and cheaper for them to hire workers who are already EU residents; while UK citizens are now competing with a saturated market of teachers from the likes of Canada and Australia.”
However, Jennifer said that amidst a reduction in physical demand for British teachers; online demand – and work – is booming.
Jennifer said: “While the pandemic did cause many schools to close, it also caused an unprecedented surge in online delivery. That’s simply because online teaching – which was already an expanding area of expertise – makes a person’s home location more often than not, irrelevant.
“In the last year alone we’ve seen a rise of more than 250% in the sale of online courses and a significant increase in remote teaching opportunities and people looking to teach virtually.
“Objectively, you can see why online teaching appeals to both employees and employers, particularly in the climate of the last year or so. It offers maximum flexibility with minimal hassle.
“So, as it stands, while countries and economies still recover from the pandemic with a corresponding increase in demand – online learning appears to be a temporary antidote to the lack of physical demand for UK teachers.”
European based online teaching companies include the likes of Novakid, Lingoda and Learnlight with qualified British TEFL teachers also able to work as remote freelancers in countries which offer digital nomad visas.
Further afield, international companies such as US based Preply also present virtual job opportunities for British citizens teaching English in Europe.
Daniele Saccardi, Campaigns Manager with Preply said: “Online teaching has never been taken more seriously in the U.K. With events like the pandemic and increased political turmoil from Brexit, tutors are turning more and more to finding alternatives to traditional teaching.
Even institutions like Universities and schools have turned to online learning to facilitate the educational process.”
Brexit aside, other factors including travel restrictions in place during the pandemic, and the closure of language schools has forced European employers to take locality into consideration when hiring this year.
A 2021 report by English Language Teaching job platform, TEFL.com, identified that of all European language schools canvassed, around 60-100% of all current staff were either already European residents or had applied for permanent residency, with a general consensus that British EFL teachers have been disadvantaged by Brexit.
Many employers indicated that they would only consider British teachers if there were insufficient teachers available within the EU and one school in Malta commented that many of their summer teachers were previously from the UK but with the necessity for them to now obtain a work permit, costing around €280, this will inevitably change.
Claire started teaching digitally with online platform Cambly in 2020 after completing an online accreditation with The TEFL Org.
She said: “Becoming an online ESL tutor has been both fulfilling and eye-opening. The positive energy I get from my students means I don’t even mind when my alarm goes off in the morning! I enjoy helping people pursue their goals, pass an exam that will allow them to advance their education, or simply feel more confident in business meetings.
“I’ve explored my students’ home countries through their personal stories, learning to cook a mouth-watering Omani fish dish and discovering how the Vietnamese celebrate Tết (or New Year). It’s a privilege to have this insight into the lives of people around the globe while helping them learn too.”
Launched from a garden shed in the middle of the 2008 financial crash by founders Joe Hallwood and Jennifer MacKenzie, the TEFL Org is established as a market leader, with more qualifications secured than any other provider.
Responsible for training over 140,000 EFL teachers over a 10 year period, the firm provides a range of flexible in-person and online courses, ranging from 20 hours to 188 hours.
For more information on The TEFL org visit: https://www.tefl.org/
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