FED-UP workers are turning to a new career teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) after the pandemic left them disillusioned with their work or forced them out of a job, according to new research.

The TEFL Org, a world-leading Scottish firm in language teaching provision, found more than a third of its graduates opted to start their courses because they wanted a career change.

It also found that its virtual classroom courses and on-demand online lessons grew in popularity by more than 250% over the past year as lockdown attracted a new wave of entrants into teaching.

Jennifer MacKenzie, co-founder of the TEFL Org, said he believed the shift to working from home has had a significant impact on career opportunities in the sector.

“We are seeing a massive increase in people looking to start a career in TEFL that has been driven by the impact the pandemic has had on people’s lives,” she said.

“Those who could perhaps not follow a passion for teaching due to travel restrictions or time constraints, and especially those who found themselves out of work, can now do so from the comfort of their own home. We can beam our lessons to students from all over the globe.

“As much as possible, we will be pursuing the remote learning route. It has proven to be much more efficient than in-person teaching and provides flexibility for our staff and our learners.”

Yvonne Beckles, who studied French and German at the University of Glasgow, is one professional who made the move to TEFL.

She worked for the Bath local Tourism Board in Somerset before being made redundant during the pandemic and, after much deliberation, completed a 120-hour accredited course with The TEFL Org in 12 weeks before starting her career as a teacher.

Beckles said: “First I was furloughed, then, along with many of my colleagues, I was made redundant.

“I didn’t know what I would do next, because all I really knew was the tourism industry, and the future there was looking bleak.

“A chance conversation with a friend led me to think about TEFL and I decided to look into it further. I hadn’t done any language teaching before, but I had trained staff and given talks to tourism students.

“Even though I was slightly daunted by the prospect of going back to studying and completing assignments after so many years, I thoroughly enjoyed the course, and it felt good to be doing something positive and keeping my brain active following my redundancy.”

Through The TEFL Org, Beckles then secured a job with a company teaching English online to 5-11 year old students almost 5000 miles away in China, but recent legislative changes there have left her hoping for alternative opportunities.

However, she continues to teach from the comfort of her own home in Bath to 40 students each week.

“A year ago, if anyone had told me that I would be teaching English to overseas children in the future, I would have told them they were crazy, but here I am, enjoying the challenges and satisfaction that each class brings,” she said.

“The saying goes that ‘when one door closes, another opens’ and in my case it’s true. I lost one job that I loved, and I’m so lucky to have found another one.”

Inverness-based The TEFL Org conducted an internal survey with its graduates over the last six months of 2020, which found 29% of them took a TEFL course i to improve their CV.

There was also a small rise in undergraduate and postgraduate degree holders from 2019 looking to gain a qualification.

MacKenzie and her co-founder Joe Hallwood started firm from a garden shed during the 2008 financial crash.

The employee-owned company now claims a place as the world's leading provider in TEFL accreditation after it experienced an 81% revenue growth from 2019 to 2020.