english teacher

english as a second language teacher

regional coordinator

tutor

recruitment consultant

Ef-Education-First

As an employee and manager with EF, I learned many valuable skills, met many wonderful clients, and developed as a leader and professional. I worked remotely from the main offices. I realized quickly that working from home and in another location had many pros an cons. Although working independently was part of the role, I did not feel supported by management in my efforts to run a program in my area. The role was almost designed for failure, as you are expected to do sales, management, and recruitment jobs without proper training. 

The company has a high turnover rate, as they expect too much from individuals. At my time of hire, there were 6 managers for 6 locations. By the end of my first year, I was the only original program manager still employed and two of the destinations had been shut down. It seems as though the company is more about marketing itself to its customers and potential candidates, rather than actually taking care of the employees or customers. Company is focused on hiring "fun, young personalities" and making friends with colleagues, rather than choosing the best candidates.  In many instances, my clients were dissatisfied with the service and operation of the company.

Although the work itself is easy and manageable, it can get monotonous and uninspiring. What's more, management is completely uninterested in staff matters and does not have any forum for Teachers' opinions. 

There is no room for growth therefore nothing to aspire to. Management is also very inconsistent with its treatment of all the workers. 

The pay is fine, it becomes the only motivation to keep working since you do get a performance bonus. 

The clients/ students themselves are great to work with. They are often eager to learn and it's really great to speak to people from different countries and aid them in their learning process. 

I think management should offer debriefing sessions as not all lessons are easy - it is quite often that teachers experience offensive or hate speech from learners, which may affect them negatively. Staff turnover is very high, very few people want to be at this company longer than 6 months because of the management structure and inflexible work structure. This is quite concerning.

EF South Africa is privileged to work with an incredible pool of talented, dedicated, and hardworking teachers. The educators in this organization consistently put in great effort, showcasing their passion for teaching and commitment to their roles.

However, there are significant areas for improvement within the company. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of opportunities for career advancement, which can leave employees feeling stagnant in their professional growth. Additionally, the support provided by management could be more robust to better address teachers' needs and challenges.

The benefits offered by the company are minimal, and the salary structure may not be competitive enough to meet the needs of individuals with financial responsibilities. While this position can serve as a valuable starting point for school leavers or individuals seeking entry-level experience, it may not be the ideal long-term career choice for those looking for advancement or stability.

I should have read the reviews about this company before I joined.  They treat the teachers with the same unprofessionalism across the world.  I tolerated this company due to the high unemployment rate and my wonderful colleagues. 

The job sounds amazing on paper but the fact that they do not have a human resource management structure is the number one gripe the teachers have. The payroll is done on an excel spreadsheet and our pay is hardly ever accurate. You would have months were thousands would be missing from your salary and no proof whatsoever of how because they use unreliable methods to keep track of our hours.

They cannot keep up with their reward system and the only way to earn a decent amount of money is by working abnormal hours. You have absolutely no room for growth and the turnover rate is so high. The medical aid they claim to have is a hospital plan. 

It's a good place to start if you don't have a job, you get to interact with interesting students.

Education first is an online based company English teaching center. A typical day is the is logging on to the computer and teaching English online, everyday. Your communication and grammar skills improve. Management is very unprofessional and not supportive. Also no HR. There is no workplace culture because there is a very high staff turnover. The hardest part of the job is motivating yourself to go there to do the same thing over and over again. The most enjoyable part is the students some of them are really nice and you really become culturally aware and tolerant.

My day consists of making calls to the students allocated to me, sending e-mails, reaching a target as well as maintaining a good call-quality.

I have learned time-management, telephoning skills as well as people-skills.

My co-workers are friendly people, with whom I get along with therefore making it a great environment to work in.

Management is so-so however they delegate tasks well and there is good communication with the staff.

The hardest part about the job is reaching most of the students because they are often busy or they have invalid phone numbers, which in turn makes it hard to reach daily-target.

The most enjoyable part is playing a role in helping the students achieve their study goals as well helping them improve their overall English.

It something when you are struggling to find a job in this economy but honestly not a fun place to work at. You'll constantly feel like you're in trouble as you will be questioned and reprimanded for everything. Even for a simple thing like a chair breaking at your desk when they know teachers swap chairs all the time. The admin can be a little snarky sometimes. Working every single weekend will take a toll on you; the pay could honestly be better.

I've moved from working on-site to freelancing remotely. On the remote end there is barely support. You'll have issues, and no one will assist you or respond to your email for a long time. They changed pay structures and requirements to earn bonuses in a way to make you potentially earn less.

Ugh, it's a lot, man, but it's better than being unemployed. What can we say really?

Mentor and advise international students on the importance of learning English, and how beneficial it is to them both personally and for their jobs. 
I have learned to be patient because learning a new language is not easy as it has many challenges.
Co-workers are fine, they are dedicated at what they do and are helpful when I ask for help
Hardest part of the job is trying to convince a student how English can help broaden their horizon and they still say they are not interested.
The company is international, so I am working with people from all over the world and it is so diverse and learning so much about different cultures and beliefs.

The work is fine, the students are really fun and eager to work .  There is no HR, management is not clued in on best practice and could care less. Management is synonymous with threatening. 

 You are a nameless teacher and your needs and concerns will not be addressed. The company does not give references  as they have not idea who anyone is nor care to know. In addition, I am pretty sure the 4 star reviews on here are created by management. 

To earn a quality salary you must work weekends, nights and public holidays. 

Annual leave is refused based on how management feels. 

EF is a great company to work for. They give great training and there is a lot of support from supervisors and managers. 

Work life balance can be tricky because majority of full time staff work on Saturday and Sunday. You need to plan leave well in advance. 

The salary isn't terrible if you don't pay rent and stay close to the office.

I had a lovely time working there! 

You have to be patient and love people and have a genuine interest in different cultures and people from all over the world to enjoy it.  You need to be passionate about giving your students the best experience!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
English teacher 22 salaries reported	R 8 130 per month
English as a second language teacher 3 salaries reported	R 57,00 per hour
Regional coordinator 2 salaries reported	R 11 000 per month
Tutor 1 salary reported	R 9 800 per month
Recruitment consultant 1 salary reported	R 15 000 per month

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