Wanted: 30,000 English teachers for Chinese online learning platform

A Chinese company is looking for more than 30,000 English teachers for its online education platform.

51Talk, a digital learning firm with offices here in the Philippines, is hiring workers who can teach English to young Chinese students from the comfort of their own homes.

“We need to attract 30,000 home-based online English teachers in 51Talk just for this year,” said the company’s country head Jennifer K. Que.

According to JP Soriano’s “24 Oras” report Thursday, the school has been endorsed by the Chinese Embassy to the Philippines.

The announcement comes as the Department of Labor and Employment cites more than 2.8 million workers have been affected or lost their jobs amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Irish Pa-a, one of 51Talk’s 20,000 active teachers, was fortunate to get hired before the lockdown started, as many companies had since shut down.

“Pag sa bahay ka, alam mo yung nagiging panatag ka na safe ka, and so if your family kasi, sure ka na hindi mo sila nai-infect,” said Irish.

According to 51Talk, pay starts at P20,000 per month and can go higher, depending on the teacher’s number of students and hours spent on the platform.

Some of their employees, Que said, start as early as 6 a.m. and earn as much as P80,000.

Graduates of any course and those without similar job experiences may apply, as long as they’re willing to be trained.

Applicants also need only have good command of English and are not required to be proficient in Chinese. 

Most importantly, prospective teachers must have the passion to teach children.

As for the technical requirements, they must have their own computer, wired internet connection, and a quiet workspace at home.

According to DOLE, the challenge of having fast and stable internet connection for work from home employees has been discussed at inter-agency task force (IATF) meetings.

“Kailangan po natin palakasin talaga ’yung ating infrastructure on ICT dahil ito ay malaking bagay na makakatulong as we recover from the pandemic,” said DOLE Bureau of Local Employment Director and Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay.

DOLE also advised jobseekers to do background check on potential employers before applying for online teaching jobs. – RC, GMA News