A China-based online education platform is seeking to grow its current base of online Filipino teachers from 16,000 to 100,000 over the next five years.
The Chinese firm, 51Talk, recently held a press conference with the theme ?Road to 100K Online Filipino Teachers? at the Shangri-la Hotel in Taguig City to present its plans over the next few years.
The company discussed its plans on supporting the development of the ESL (English as a Second Language) industry in the Philippines through alliances and cooperation with the government, business community, academe, and other stakeholders.
Established in China seven years ago, 51Talk was launched in the Philippines in 2012. It now provides lessons to more than 10,000,000 students in China.
According to Jack Huang, founder and CEO of 51Talk, there is a strong demand for online English lessons for children in China due to English requirements for students.
A report from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows that China has a large English consumer group of 300 million people. The English training market in China is as large as $72 billion.
The number of online English learners has reached 19.689 million and the demand for online foreign teachers has exceeded 500,000.
Around 16,000 Filipinos are currently teaching online at 51Talk, and the demand is expected to grow to 100,000 home-based online teachers in the Philippines in the next five years.
Based on its experience, 51Talk said the Philippines ranks among the best English speaking countries in Asia. The Philippines has maintained its top two ranking in the IELTS English test in Asia over the years. It has also been rated as the country with the highest level of business English in the world.
Thus, 51Talk said has deployed a curriculum development team providing quality learning experience to Chinese children. Those who teach undergo extensive training before embarking as online home-based English teachers.
The company requires a college degree for online teachers who also should have the capability to do home-based teaching by having an Internet connection and a good computer setup.
Filipino teachers and Chinese students share some common cultural traits and same time zone, making schedule healthy for both teacher and students.
51Talk?s platform has been available in the country for the last seven years with training centers in key provinces like Bacolod, Baguio, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Pampanga.
51Talk was established in 2011 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2016 with COE as its stock code. It is currently the leading brand for online English education in China and is the first Chinese online education company listed in the United States.
It is headquartered in Beijing and has branches in seven cities: Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Jinan, and Suzhou in China. At present, the company has more than 4,000 employees worldwide.
