What are the employability prospects for someone with a CELTA?

Question

I'm still studying for an undergraduate degree at the moment, but I'm not sure if I want to go into 'normal teaching' or not after I graduate. What kind of career prospects would a CELTA give me as opposed to doing a PGCE?

Answer 1

As above if you're considering teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language), ie work abroad or teach foreign students in the UK.

If you're planning on teaching ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) though, i.e. refugees and migrants settled in th UK, I would strongly recommend the PGCE route. This is because the requirements for teaching qualifications in FE and ACE (Adult & Community Education) in the UK changed from September 2007.

If you've only got the CELTA, FE colleges and other ESOL providers won't be legally allowed to employ you unless you register on a DETT(E)LS course, which is another 2 years. A PGCE would give you a full qualification.

For more information go to www.ifl.ac.uk or www.teach-adults.com

Good luck!

Edit:

It's not necessary true that the pay in ESOL is bad! Most people I know are on £30k+ p.a. It's great to aspire to university/ EAP jobs but the reality is that they are extremely difficult to find, particularly as a full-time career. Have a look at any education job search website to see for yourself. I know quite a few CELTA-qualified teachers who hoped to find university work and then, at the age of 35 were still working only a few hours a week and living in shared accommodation!

From my experience, EFL still pays on average about £10 per hour in London, and most schools of English offer no job security (often not even as much as a written contract!), pension scheme, or even as much as paid annual leave.

As for the additional qualifications for ESOL, the purpose of them is to familiarise yourself with the requirements generic to FE, e.g. evidencing achievement and record keeping.

Answer 2

If you do a CELTA you will be initiated into teaching English. CELTA holders still have a long way to go before they are fully fledged EFL teachers. If you do a CELTA you can teach abroad, and at language schools in the UK, but don't expect to get rich that way. If you find you enjoy ELT:

Do your degree

Get a CELTA

Find out all you can about teaching the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam and EAP (English for Academic Purposes)

Get a position teaching EAP at a university for a summer, to get a foot in the door. You ought to consider doing a DELTA as well at some point.

Make EAP your speciality - it is the only way that you will make a reasonable living in ELT.

Edit

Personally I wouldn't go near ESOL. The idea of being required go through the hoops of a basic course after 26 years as a teacher and teacher trainer on Diploma courses would make me want to pack the whole thing in! The pay is c**p as well.

Edit

Another way to earn money in ELT is to teach business English on a free lance basis in company in the EU, in Brussels or Strasbourg particularly. It is hard work, but if you can stand the pace you can make a packet.