Anyone who is familiar with the online teaching world has probably heard of VIPKid. Before the summer of 2021, they were one of the biggest Chinese online ESL companies in the world. Since the Double Reduction Policy in China, that has changed.
So what is happening with VIPKid now, in 2023?
I still have a contract with VIPKid and I am still actively teaching with the company. I started my VIPKid journey in May 2020, and I was around to see all of the changes. In August 2021, I taught my regular students for the last time and I thought that would be the end of my journey with VIPKid.
I moved on with my life. I worked for other companies, and I even started my own online independent teaching business. At the end of 2022, VIPKid made an announcement. They would no longer be called VIPKid, but would instead be called VIPTeacher. They changed their colour from orange to a teal/turquoise and rebranded themselves. Contracted teachers are currently able to teach online classes with VIPTeacher partners. The long term goal is for teachers to build their personal brand and teach both online classes with VIPTeacher partners and to teach their own students with a chosen curriculum right on the VIPTeacher platform.
In early 2023, I received an email from VIPTeacher asking me to certify in some of their new programs.
The programs are:
- Adult Speaking Course
- Guided Reading I
- Guided Reading II
- English in the Family
- Tigerschool
- Various Global Certifications
I was certified in every certification that was available to me, and opened my schedule for peak hours. To my surprise, I started getting bookings and it was not long before my peak hours were fully booked. I do follow a lot of VIPTeacher groups on Facebook and I know this is not the case for everyone with a VIPTeacher contract and an open schedule. I do believe it is very random with who is getting booked and who is not. From what I can understand based on Facebook conversations, the game changers seem to be the Adult Speaking Certification and the Guided Reading Certification. Teachers with these certifications seem to be having better luck with bookings.
But what about people who have never had a contract with VIPKid. Is VIPTeacher hiring new teachers?
I can not speak on this topic with absolute certainty, but I have had friends apply to VIPTeacher recently. They applied and even did the recorded mock lesson, but afterwards they never heard from anyone ever again.
Also, VIPKid had a thing called Dino U, and back in the glory days of VIPKid, they had many workshops dedicated to new teachers. VIPTeacher still has Dino U, but I have not seen a workshop for new teachers since the Double Reduction Policy in China.
So what is next for VIPTeacher? I cannot say for sure, but I do believe they will continue to grow. It’ll take some time. I am seeing an increase in my bookings each week. I do not believe they are actively hiring new teachers at this time, but who knows what will happen going forward. Anything is possible.