Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off your bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
What was the reason you founded International TEFL Training Institute?
I have always been fascinated by travel. Personally, I have traveled around the world and visited over 125 countries. Travel is an exciting thing; however, you have to be able to support yourself over time. An excellent way to achieve the balance between travel and the need to support yourself is to teach English. So we established a training organization that gives individuals with an excellent command of English the opportunity to become certified to teach English.
What makes your organization different from other TEFL training providers?
We have created a training program that not only “sells”; it’s a training program designed to give our teacher trainees an excellent return on investment. It’s a training program for those who seriously consider the career of a teacher—something schools around the world desire so much. First of all, ITTI’s training solutions are accepted in all schools worldwide. The education our trainees receive is compatible to education at acclaimed four-year colleges as we use the same textbooks. In addition, our trainers are highly experienced practitioners in the field of TESOL. Finally, the employment record of our graduates speaks volumes. They get hired at the very best schools throughout the world. And we personally make an effort to get them into organizations they desire.
How do you guarantee quality of your program?
All our ITTI locations teach exactly the same course. This includes the individual classes as well as the textbooks we use. Our textbooks are written by famous college professors in the United States. Whenever we have a new location join us, they take over the same program with the same textbooks.
Our organization has been accredited by International Accreditation Organization, a quality assurance body with chapters on all continents. Our accreditation has been authenticated by the US Department of the State.
As an international training provider, we are members of organizations that promote the quality of teaching. We are members of IATEFL and derive inspiration for our work through their international work. We are also institutional members of the College of Teachers. We abide by its Code of Ethics in our daily work.
What do you do to ensure, students get support when reaching out to schools to land employment?
We help them to set up a professional resume/CV and a cover letter. We provide them with school information and suggestions of how to handle the interview process. At times, we even take the initiative to contact schools on behalf of trainees. This is true for female graduates who wish to work in countries that don’t offer women the same opportunities as men. We can look at an example in Dubai where our trainer personally contacted the school. After the interview, our graduate was hired.
Throughout the years, we have developed a network of organizations that will support our trainees in landing employment.
Overall, all of our graduates who wanted to work, landed employment—some even during the TEFL program, others became successful shortly thereafter. And we have other graduates who wish to delay work for different reasons. Teaching English is not subject to recession. Jobs abound. As our training is accepted at all schools, our graduates are not limited to a few schools.
Do you have examples of your graduates landing employment?
Yes, we do. Just recently, one of our graduates went to a New York City school. She was hired on the spot and has been teaching English there ever since. Another graduate from our school went to the same school. They hired her during the first interview. There are prestigious schools in New York City that employ several of our graduates.
One of our graduates has been teaching at King Saud University for approximately three years. He has set up his own teacher placement organization in Saudi Arabia and helps other teachers find employment in schools throughout the country.
Another graduate went to teach English in Turkey. She has just opened her own English school after teaching in Turkey for some time.
How do you see the future for your organization?
We constantly work and improve to give our trainees the best value in education. We are collaborating with universities to create joint-venture projects in which our students can obtain a higher education at an affordable cost. We are increasing our network of schools. Our most recent additions are our schools in Madrid and Istanbul. Although extremely difficult, we also operate in certain areas of Africa to give interested individuals access to the program, so they become employable as English teachers. Overall, we want to expand our system of schools and want to be known as an organization that graduates quality teaching professionals–teachers which every school will love to employ.