British Council, in partnership with the Moroccan Association of Friends of English (MAFE) and the American Language Centre in Fez, has launched a new scheme that will support unemployed graduates to become English teachers.

The English Teaching Graduate scheme is intended to support BA and MA graduates who are keen to pursue a career in Teaching English as second language as but who have not yet had the opportunity or do not have the resources to do so.

25 young people will be subsided during July 2012 to an intensive three weeks Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) at the American Language Centre in Fez.

This teaching qualification focusing on the core knowledge needed by all teachers of English as a second language. TKT course has been prepared and is delivered to international standards by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL).

This new scheme will help provide unemployed graduates with a gateway into an exciting and dynamic career within the private sector. This is especially important given that private schools don’t employ graduates with no foundation in the core areas of teaching knowledge needed in the English language teaching classroom and resort to the teachers working in the public schools.

Nick Cherkas, English Projects Manager for the British Council in Morocco, said “This course is a unique opportunity for young English teachers in Morocco to gain the practical skills needed to start their career. We hope that this course will be the first of many to teachers in a similar situation all over Morocco.”

It is hoped this pilot scheme will be expanded in the future to help meet the needs of many other young people in the other cities and who may be struggling to find productive work in Morocco or who are looking for new career opportunities. Priority for the 2012 intake will be given to graduates who are not currently in employment and who finished their degree within the last two years.