i-to-i and ILA Funding Help Scottish People Find Paid Work Abroad

July 30, 2012 - PRLog -- The Scottish unemployment rate recently stood at 8.2%*, although this shows an improvement from the last few years, the rate is still alarming. Despite the struggle for jobs domestically, overseas the situation is the complete opposite. With more than 2 billion people learning English worldwide the demand for English teachers is huge and it’s increasing every year.

Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) provides people with a fantastic opportunity to live and work abroad, whilst getting paid and adding a valuable experience to their CV. No previous experience is required to find TEFL jobs all around the world and all it takes to get started is a TEFL qualification.

Craig Hunter, former TEFLer and now Online TEFL Tutor at i-to-i TEFL, grew up in a little town called East Kilbride just outside Glasgow until he was introduced to TEFL. He taught in Japan for four years. Craig says, “I had done a fair amount of travelling, but I really wanted to experience life in a foreign country. I wanted to immerse myself in a different culture and learn a new language. TEFL is the most effective way to do this. It just so happens that I ended up loving teaching as well. I lived in a rural prefecture called Kochi on the island of Shikoku”

Craig agrees that TEFL provides a great opportunity for people to find paid work overseas. He says, “TEFL is an excellent option for any native English speaker. It’s a fantastic opportunity for young people to see the world or for those who want a career change later in life. You will have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. It’s a great opportunity for you to act as an ambassador for your country… you might be the only Scottish person some people meet in their whole life”

Many of the English teaching positions available worldwide specifically ask for native English speaking graduates with a recognised TEFL qualification. These types of qualifications can be gained for as little as £149 and can be completed in just one weekend. So they offer people a fast and inexpensive way to find work. Plus, Scottish residents can also benefit from ILA funding to give them £200 off an i-to-i TEFL qualification. Depending on which course the funding is used for, ILA funding can cover the cost of the whole course.
To qualify for ILA funding you need to meet the following criteria:
•   Ordinarily resident* in Scotland
•   You must be age 16 years old or over
•   Have an income of £22,000 per year, or less or are on benefits
•   You must not hold a UK degree (or overseas equivalent)
•   You must not be undertaking any form of full-time or part-time secondary, further or higher education
•   You must not be participating on any National Training Programme (Modern Apprenticeships, Get Ready for Work or Training for Work).
For those who do not qualify for ILA funding can still get quality, internationally recognized training to qualify to teach English abroad at relatively low costs with i-to-i TEFL. With current discounted prices starting at just £129.

Gemma Turner, Managing Director of i-to-i TEFL, has this advice anyone struggling to find employment, “If you’re struggling to find work here in the UK, just get yourself a TEFL course and a plane ticket and you’ll be able to find well-paid work in no time. There are literally 1000’s of teaching jobs advertised every week and they’re crying out for native English speakers with degrees. Plus with ILA funding you can get a huge discount off TEFL courses, which is fantastic”
Editors notes:

1. Contact Anna Drabble on anna.drabble@i-to-i.com or call on 0113 205 4650.
2. Photos are available. Please contact Anna Drabble if you require more shots.
3. i-to-i was founded in 1994 as has been offering TEFL courses and international volunteering experiences ever since. They launched the first ever weekend TEFL course. They created the first ever online TEFL course. And over the course of the last 18 years they have trained 127,000 people to teach English as a foreign language. They now operate courses in 20 countries worldwide and teach over 16,000 new English teachers every year.
*Unemployment rate correct in June 2012 according to BBC news

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-1...