Online English school planning to hire 30,000 Pinoy teachers

Online English School 51Talk, which caters mainly to Chinese students, over the weekend said it is looking to hire 30,000 more teachers in the Philippines this year, given the current shortage of instructors.

In an emailed statement, the company said it is now looking at hiring more English tutors to address the shortage of 500,000 foreign English-language teachers in China.

"With the exploding demand for English-speaking teachers in China, there has probably never been a better time than right now to teach English online," said Jack Huang, founder and chief executive officer of 51Talk.

51Talk claims to be China's largest online English education company which has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2016.

Its teachers in the Philippines are said to earn as much as P60,000.

"The Philippines is one of the best English-speaking countries in Asia. Filipino teachers have standard American pronunciation. More than 1 million Filipinos work at call centers in the United States," said Huang.

"All you need is a stable internet connection, a laptop, a built-in or external webcam, a headset, and a quiet space to teach," he added.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier this month showed that the number of jobless Filipinos rose by 5 million in April, bringing the unemployment rate to a record-high 17.7%.

The data came as Metro Manila, along with several high-risk areas, was under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 17 to May 15, followed by a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until May 31.

A general community quarantine (GCQ) has been put in place since June  1, ending on the 15th, but no guidance has been given yet what follows.

The latest figures have been downplayed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, claiming that the figures were "not actual or factual." —LBG, GMA News