City of Portsmouth College’s lead role in re-training of Ukrainian teachers

The college has teamed up with Hampshire County Council to deliver a special CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching) course in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

The first group have just successfully completed their month-long studies at the college’s Arundel campus.

Predominantly from Ukraine, all the students have moved to the UK over the past few years.

Sabina Rashkovska, who moved to the UK in August 2022, said: “I took this course to develop my skills and gain access to more job opportunities. The college has exceeded all of my expectations, the tutors are brilliant, and I am grateful to all the staff.”

Many of the students were previously teachers in Ukraine and have taken the opportunity to develop their skills and help other people whose first language is not English.

Liudmyla Berezova, who came to the UK with her son in April 2022, has been teaching for her whole career.

“I’d like to teach fellow refugees using the qualification I gain from this course, because I am also a refugee and understand their problems,” she explained.

CELTA Programme Lead and Main Course Tutor, Andrew Tyrrell, said: “It has been a pleasure training these dedicated professionals and watching them use their skills and knowledge to engage and educate the students.

“The CELTA course at City of Portsmouth College has a 100% success rate and has been able to help people get teaching jobs around the country, online and overseas, as well as enabling them to set up in their own teaching businesses.

“This is another brilliant way that we are able to help the community and provide English teachers for those who want to learn, integrate and feel confident and productive in their new environment.”

For anyone interested in a CELTA course, visit https://www.city-of-portsmouth-college.ac.uk/