Arriving on the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan for the very first time in Thailand. Taking the boat over was a truly amazing experience as it was the first time I had seen such beautiful, tropical islands. It was close to sunset as we pulled in and the red and pink sky, with the sun setting into the ocean, was a moment I'll never forget!
Staff Spotlight: Jacob Thomas
Title:
Academic DirectorPhotos
Jacob is a DELTA-qualified EFL teacher with over 9 years of experience. Having traveled across Asia, South America, and Europe, Jacob now heads up the academic team at Premier TEFL, helping to guide the next generation of English teachers to start their new careers.
What is your favorite travel memory?
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
Working here at Premier TEFL has allowed me to grow and expand in a number of ways. I have learned about assessments, course writing and creating, quality assurance, and materials design. Being able to spread out into so many different areas has really been a wonderfully rewarding experience. This helps us to push into new and exciting areas of the business.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
We deal with so many students so it's just nice to see when any student has passed one of our courses and then goes on to have a full and rewarding career. I love hearing from learners who have traveled around the world and are now settled in their new location, especially when they are motivated to keep up their CPD and build their careers even further.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
Naturally, I'd love to go on any Thailand internship that I could! However, I would love to go on the Argentina internship too as I have never been there and always wanted to explore South America more. I think this would be a really lovely experience and give me the chance to explore South America more!
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
We are a small team of very hardworking people. I've worked in a lot of schools and with a lot of online, remote companies, and this is the best atmosphere and working environment that I've found. Everyone is very kind, patient, open, and has a great attitude. There is a high level of mutual respect which I think is important, we are all ambitious and motivated to build and develop the company to be the best in the industry.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
I think that it is important that everyone within a company is working towards the same common goal. Understanding where you are as a company and where you would like to be is really important. Each person plays a role in helping the company to not only meet its targets but exceed them. To do this, everyone has to be motivated to do their best at all times in the areas that they are responsible for.