Working for the British council in Poland (Warsaw)

Hi everyone :) I am interested in trying to get a job with the british council in warsaw. anyone have any experience working for them? also, any tips on other similar higher level language teaching jobs available for professional ESL teachers, not backpacker types? cheers and thanks in advance

These jobs go to people in the know. If you're working outside Poland, then you should have contacts with the local BC or other institution with links to the British Council in some way.

Now the BC is closing in Russia, they'll have a number of staff to redeploy somewhere. Added to the BC shrinking its operation in Poland, it isn't the best time to look for work there.

ye you don't just walk into a job at the BC tbh.

thanks guys for your feedback. all info is useful! i wasn't really asking about the prospects of getting a job with the british council ;) but rather looking for any info on what it was like to teach with them in Poland, what the job is like. also wondering if there are some similar level other ESL schools/jobs to be on the lookout for! if you have any info on that it would be great! Cheers!

You may get some more info on... Dave's ESL Cafe, where you may will find comments regarding teaching jobs in Poland.

Yes-ish. I'd add that you're most likely to find out-of-date or second-hand information, opinion, and speculation.

Nevertheless it's still worth reading, though it's important to take things there with a very large pinch of salt.

@Maltinka, it's actually possible still to apply to the Council centrally, via their London HQ. How effective this is, I don't know It's also worth following them on LinkedIn (where they advertise) and checking out their ads (none for Poland; they don't generally need to advertise much since Warsaw has a surplus of experienced EFL Teachers) on tefl.com

Generally, once you've worked for the Council somewhere (perhaps on a short contract in a 'less-desirable' location, you've a foot in the door and have a good chance of getting more (and better) work with them. have a look at their various LinkedIn groups, especially the one for short-term contracts.

Quite interesting to note that the BC's attempt at expansion in Poland failed miserably a couple of years back. They tried to launch schools in cooperation with well known state schools, but no-one was willing to pay their high prices when the market was flooded with inexpensive lessons with native speakers, as well as really high quality Polish teachers.

They tend to think they're some sort of gold standard, which they're not.

They do have well-trained teachers, however so do many other places and in any case the price differential is far larger than the quality differential.