Government

TEFL Courses Offer Glimmer of Hope to Those Demoralised by Gloomy Job Market

In the current economic climate with today’s dreary job market it seems almost every other month new government figures are released showing an even greater rise in unemployment within the UK. The latest set of statistics released revealed that UK unemployment had rose again, leaving more than 2.5 million people out of work, with youth unemployment rising above 1 million. These figures have many questioning how rising unemployment in the UK is being tackled, and if the government are doing enough to get youngsters into work or alternative methods of education.

At the moment the bleak job market presents young job seekers with a catch 22 situation: How to get valuable work experience to add to their CV without any previous work experience. The vast numbers of people out of work are left demoralised by the process of sitting at home, applying for job after job without receiving a reply. With the challenge of breaking into the world of work becoming even harder for young people, the use of talented graduates in unpaid intern roles by many employers has raised the debate over cheap labour. Young people are so desperate for experience that they are prepared to work for free, but many organisations are now using unpaid interns to cut back on expenses rather than providing beneficial work experience for young workers, with many believe the interns are merely being exploited.

However with the debate surrounding the use of interns still raging and unemployment still on the rise some within the recruitment industry including Guardian Jobs believe that the future may not be as bad as it seems. In November Nick Clegg unveiled the coalition’s £1bn scheme which will provide subsidized work and training placements aimed to create a range of opportunities for job seekers including raising the awareness of alternative study and career choices, such as TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) courses.

TEFL courses are a great route into work for young people or those considering a career change. A qualification in TEFL will provide opportunities to work in the UK and abroad and meet people from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures. These opportunities to combine work and travel not only offer the adventure of a life time but also to gain valuable work and life experience along the way.

Teaching English abroad as a foreign language is most likely a career path that many young job seekers have never considered and the governmental are attempting to alter this by raising the awareness of TEFL courses and by showing the opportunities that become available to those with TEFL qualifications. Not only is a TEFL qualification extremely valuable abroad but is a great qualification to also add to your CV. TEFL courses also offer the opportunity to not only work abroad but to also study abroad in order to study for your TEFL courses. Institutions such as St Giles International have English language schools based worldwide including the US, Brazil and Canada.

A number of institutions offer TEFL courses but St Giles was a pioneer in the field and one of the first organisations to offer training for English language teachers in the UK. TEFL qualifications offered by St Giles include the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) and the Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Cert. TESOL).


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