The TEFL Org turns 15!

We’re not the self-congratulatory sort here at The TEFL Org. Yes, we’re the most accredited TEFL course provider in the world. Sure, we’ve won multiple awards, including a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2022. Fine, if you insist on us telling you about it, it’s also true that we train thousands of people every year to become brilliant English teachers. 

This is all true. However, you won’t hear us go on about it. There is one milestone, however, that’s unavoidable. One that puts all of our achievements, all our accolades into perspective. Yes, The TEFL Org that you know and love is turning 15.

It’s wild to think about. From the humble beginnings of our company in 2008, The TEFL Org has grown into an international force, bringing up the standards of TEFL training along with us along the way. Over the years, The TEFL Org has formed numerous partnerships around the world with employers and charities. We’ve seen tens of thousands of students being put through their paces by our team of great tutors, and to think: it all started out in a garden shed.

Beginnings

The get to the start of The TEFL Org’s story, you have to imagine the scene: Joe Hallwood and Jennifer MacKenzie have taught in Greece, France and Austria, and when they return to the UK have seen enough to realise that the industry - certainly how teachers gain qualifications - could use some work.

It wasn’t as easy as immediately changing the game though. As Jennifer told us in an episode of ‘I Taught English Abroad’ , the beginnings were inauspicious: a garden shed in near Inverness, Scotland were the extremely DIY conditions for the incubation of an industry leader.

“We were in a wooden shed and thought ‘is this safe?’ We were desperately looking for an office space we were comfortable having staff in!”

“Quality was really important to us from the beginning. For me, quality and customer service were my driving forces right from the beginning. Right from the first few months, we tried to make sales, and we tried to secure accreditation right from the beginning with our courses. It took 18 months to get, but we set out right from the beginning wanting to create courses that were good enough to be accredited.”

Joe and Jennifer used their contacts and hired talent like Thomas Kerr - still very much a key player in the company - and their ambitions? Well, they’d come to fruition in spectacular style.

How it’s grown

Needless to say, since its humble beginnings, The TEFL Org has become a force in the industry. The list of awards make for considerable reading: Outstanding Business Performance in the inaugural Highland Business Awards in 2013, recognition in the first ever Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards , the aforementioned Queen’s Award for Enterprise , and so many more.

The ambition of securing accreditation has also been met. Courses designed by The TEFL Org are accredited by Ofqual, DEAC, BAC, SQA and more. Quite rightly, we’re recognised as the most accredited TEFL course provider around.

It’s truly all about our team, though. The number of staff has grown, and though we work remotely, we’re a tight-knit bunch. The TEFL Org may have started in the Highlands of Scotland, but our team today is spread across the UK, Ireland, Spain, and the USA. 

What we’re most proud of, though? Charity. Over the last 5 years alone, The TEFL Org has raised nearly £30,000 for our charity partners, including Aberlour and Theirworld . As our Managing Director Andy Healy says:

“Another really enjoyable moment was handing a cheque over to our chosen charity partner Aberlour, at the end of a brilliantly successful year. They said it was the largest ever single donation they’d received and we were thrilled to support their incredible work helping disadvantaged children and families.”

Proud moments

Jennifer MacKenzie (Co-Founder):

“It’s been a long journey (even a slog sometimes!) but there have been many brilliant moments: making our first sale (I remember the customer’s name to this day); getting our SQA accreditation, and then the ensuing raising of standards across online TEFL training as competitors also started getting their courses accredited. 

“The industry had a bit of a cowboy reputation previously with dodgy training providers (not all but a lot), bad customer service and some very poor courses and although it’s not perfect, it is a lot better than when we started, and I really think our focus on accreditation and customer service has been at the root of this. Other moments of happiness and achievement have been winning our many awards, not least the Queens Award for Enterprise last year which was a great commendation for the team and the work that had been done by everyone up to that point and as a founder a great point to stand down!

“I’m also really proud (and thankful!) of all those who joined us on our journey and stuck with us through the many growing pains and learning curves of being part of a start up company with a lot of knowledge of TEFL but a lot less of running a business! And a big thank you to those that came and joined us for some time before taking their skills and supporting and leading others elsewhere.”

Andy Healy (Managing Director):

“Definitely my proudest memory so far (and I have a long list) was receiving the Queen’s Award for Enterprise from King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. It was such an honour to represent the team that day!”

Thomas Kerr (Online and Academic Manager):

“My proudest moment at The TEFL Org is always when witnessing one of our students completing their TEFL certification with us and securing their dream teaching job abroad. It is incredibly rewarding to know that I played a role in their success and the start of their exciting journey.

“I got an email only yesterday from a student who was recently awarded our TEFL certificate. In an interview for a teaching job in Vietnam the other day, she said she knew more about lesson planning than the seasoned teacher giving the interview, and got the job, yay!”

Bring on the future!

Whatever happens next, The TEFL Org’s dynamic and forward-thinking team are prepared. Most recently, we’ve partnered with online learning platform EdX to provide opportunities to students worldwide. Our courses are available to anyone, having adapted to meet the challenges of the pandemic, a shift to online learning, and remote work.

We’ll continue to innovate, updating our Teach English Abroad and Teach English Online portals, putting out episodes of our (already!) award-nominated podcast ‘I Taught English Abroad’ , nurture teaching talent around the world and meet the challenges of AI, advancing technology and changes in education.

We don’t know what the world will look like in 15 years time. We do know, though, that we’ll be there, celebrating 30 years of The TEFL Org.

Now if you don’t mind us saying: happy birthday to us!