Job
Outlook:
Employment is expected to grow faster than average, and many job
openings are expected due to the need to replace people who leave
the occupation or retire. Job opportunities are expected to be favorable,
particularly for teachers of English to speakers of other languages.
Employment
change:
Employment of adult literacy and remedial education teachers is
expected to grow by 15 percent through 2018, which is faster than
the average for all occupations. As employers increasingly require
a more literate workforce, workers' demand for adult literacy, basic
education, and secondary education classes is expected to grow.
Significant employment growth is anticipated especially for ESOL
teachers, who will be needed by the increasing number of immigrants
and other residents living in this country who need to learn or
improve their English skills. In addition, greater proportions of
these groups are expected to take ESOL classes.
The
demand for adult literacy and basic and secondary education often
fluctuates with the economy. When the economy is good and workers
are hard to find, employers may relax their standards and hire workers
without a degree or GED or good proficiency in English. As the economy
softens, employers can be more selective, and more students may
find that they need additional education to get a job. In addition,
adult education classes often are subject to changes in funding
levels, which can cause the number of teaching jobs to fluctuate
from year to year. In particular, budget pressures may limit Federal
funding of adult education, which may cause programs to rely more
on volunteers if other organizations and governments do not make
up the difference. Other factors such as immigration policies and
the relative prosperity of the United States compared with other
countries also may have an impact on the number of immigrants entering
this country and, consequently, on the demand for ESOL teachers.
Job
prospects:
Job prospects should be favorable as high turnover among part-time
workers creates many openings. Opportunities will be best for ESOL
teachers, particularly in States that have large populations of
residents who have limited English skills—such as California,
Florida, Texas, and New York. However, many other parts of the country
have begun to attract large numbers of immigrants, making good opportunities
in this field widely available.
Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
|