CHINA-based 51Talk, an English language mentoring platform continued its Philippine expansion with a new education center in Imus City, Cavite.
Considered as the “leading online English language teaching platform,” 51Talk has focused its Southeast Asian operations in the Philippines after having seen how well Filipino teachers have been performing as English teachers to thousands of Chinese children and adults as well who are in many Chinese cities.
The platform has 250,000 students, majority of them children who want to learn the English language.
Just last month, Jack Huang, founder and CEO of 51Talk, said they plan to recruit 100,000 teachers in five years from the Philippines as part of its expansion plans.
From left: 51Talk Public Relations & Branding Manager Estelamarie Papa; 51Talk Assistant Vice-President for Human Resources Luz Castro; DICT Cluster 2 Director Reynaldo Sy; 51Talk Vice President Ms. Jennifer K. Que for Philippine Operations; and 51Talk Operations Director for Home-Based Teachers Rommel Quezon at launch of the China-based online platform’s Cavite education center. (Photo: 51Talk)
Presently, the online platform has 15,000 Filipinos teachers — all based in the Philippines, — in its employ and sees this increasing to 17,000 by year’s end. The teachers are working from various locations in the country.
A teacher under 51Talk may earn as much as Php80,000 a month.
On October 17, 51Talk officials opened their latest education center in Imus.
Including Imus, the company now has six centers located in the cities of Bacolod, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, Pasig, which they expect to have at least 1,000 recruits every month.
Four more sites for new educational centers are already in the pipeline and would be opened before 2019.
Founded in 2012, 51Talk aims to hire 100,000 Filipino online English teachers within five years; it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2016 under China Online Education (NYSE:COE).
Abundance of quality teachers
Jennifer K. Que, vice president for 51Talk Philippine Operations, cited the many quality teachers in the country.
“Choosing Cavite as our sixth center is a good thing for us because of the fact that there’s a big number of quality teachers in that area and the big support the city government of Imus have given to us,” she said.
Que noted the difference between a work-at-home arrangement and working in the office that needs commuting.
“Teachers looking for good and quality jobs no longer have to brave the everyday traffic. We are here to give teachers home-based opportunities and earn a stable income. With better access to our facilities, this center will serve as a launching pad of their careers as online teachers, where we can provide them with the necessary training and real-time coaching, to better equip them with the proper skills, and ensure their success.”
Also present at the launch event, Director Reynaldo Sy of the Cluster 2 of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) lauded 51Talk for providing jobs to Filipinos even in key cities not located in Metro Manila.
“You don’t need to send Filipinos abroad anymore because there are opportunities online like what 51Talk has,” he pointed out.
It can be recalled that 51Talk and DICT entered into a partnership through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed last May.
The accord spelled the two parties’ cooperation as they jointly committed to promoting livelihood and community development. As part of the MOA, 51Talk will provide free training in DICT’s shared facilities, turning the home-based teaching career opportunity more accessible in the country’s various regions.
How to qualify as 51Talk online mentor
Those who wish to apply must be college graduates, preferably of Education and Communication courses, possess a good command of English, and creative with teaching methods. Since it is a home-based operation, applicants are expected to have a stable Internet connection, the necessary computer hardware, and specifically, a webcam for conducting video lessons as part of the technical requirements.
“Now, if you’re not ready with the technical requirement, we could still launch you as one of our teachers after you have undergone our training and passed our performance evaluation. After signing up, you will earn while we train you for a month.
“After that, you can start building your own teaching corner at home, where you can teach at your convenience on flexible working hours,” Que explained.
The Filipino 51Talk official indicated that now is the time to join the company because it is in a great position because learning English in China is in high demand but access to English speaking teachers is very limited and expensive.
“We are here to fill the gap that gap by providing English language education that’s effective and affordable. And Filipinos can take advantage of this opportunity because they are natural teachers whom we find are fit to teach kids, have a happy disposition in life, and are culturally compatible with Chinese students,” Que said further. (EKU)