English training platform aims for more Philippine teachers

51Talk, a leading online English training platform in China, plans to recruit more Philippine teachers to teach Chinese kids and expand its product lines to more third and fourth-tier cities in the coming years, boosted by the convenience of online learning and quality of Philippine teachers.

"We set out to add 100,000 Philippine online teachers in the next five years," said Huang Jiajia, founder and CEO of 51Talk. At present, the company has over12,000 Philippine teachers, the largest supplier in the educational field across China.

Philippine Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III also said this February there were 300,000 jobs for overseas Filipino workers and a third of the available jobs are for English teachers, adding there is a big demand for English teachers in China, as Chinese parents want their children to learn to speak English.

Founded in 2011, Beijing-based 51Talk's Philippine teachers now account for 80 percent of its total instructors. And the company has five foreign offices in the Philippines including the capital Manila, Bacolod, Davao, Cebu and Baguio.

As one of the few English learning platforms that focuses on Philippine teachers, some parents may doubt the Filipino pronunciation style, but Huang said stereotypes about Filipinos should be rethought, as they enjoy a high level of business English mastery in the world.

51Talk also maintains a strict recruiting process which ensures, from initial interview to final appointment, only 2 percent of candidates qualify as online teachers.

In recent years K-12 education, which refers to the North American designation for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, has gained momentum in China. The investment has poured into online English learning for children, stimulating the strong growth of other brands such as VIPKID, DaDaABC and HitalkKids.

Facing direct challenges from online learning entities, Huang said benign competition was actually conducive to growth of the industry, and children and parents could choose their most desired courses.