How to get your unqualified teachers qualified in Southeast Asia
Joshua James is an education leader with over sixteen years of experience across Southeast Asia, working to strengthen links between universities and schools and improve education outcomes. He also works with Tes Institute as a pathway tutor and assessor in Southeast Asia. He has previously held senior leadership roles in higher education and as Managing Director of a K-12 school in Ho Chi Minh City, following twelve years as a teacher.
In this article, Joshua discusses the challenges of qualifying teachers in Southeast Asia and how Tes Institute’s professional development programmes can help.
Once upon a time, a person could arrive in Asia and get a teaching job with or without a formal teaching qualification. Schools wanted native English speakers to help students learn the language. An English teaching certificate, the kind you could earn in a month, was often enough to get a person’s foot in the door, whether that door was a language centre or a school classroom.
While most international schools have held themselves to a different standard, the rapid growth of the middle class across Southeast Asia has created a new tier of schools alongside them. Bilingual and semi-international schools have emerged to serve families who want an international-style education at a more accessible price point.
These schools operate on lower fees and tighter budgets. Their hiring decisions reflect that reality. In many countries, the market is now saturated with private schools, and the number of qualified foreign teachers available to work in them is not growing at the same pace.
If you lead one of these schools, you have almost certainly hired teachers who lack formal qualifications. Sometimes because they were the best person available. Sometimes because the budget didn't stretch to a fully credentialed hire. Usually, some combination of both. The reasons vary, but the outcome is the same.
The problem is what comes next.
The gap school leaders in Southeast Asia have learned to live with
Most leaders in this region are constantly weighing the pros and cons of hiring unqualified teachers. What most leaders haven't had is a practical route to fix it. You delay, you manage, you work around it, and you hope your best people stay long enough to justify the investment you've put into them.
That is becoming harder to sustain. Work permit requirements are tightening across the region. Accreditation frameworks pay attention to staff credentials. What was once a manageable grey area is becoming a compliance question that school leaders need an answer to urgently.
What I didn't know for a long time
I spent years looking for a qualification route that worked for the teachers I was responsible for. Something practical, something that kept teachers in school and something that recognised what they already knew how to do. I didn't find it for a long time. When I did, it changed how I thought about the problem entirely.
There are routes to UK qualified teacher status (QTS) designed specifically for experienced teachers who are already in post, with support available in the region.
The Assessment Only route is exactly what it sounds like. A teacher with two years of experience across two schools is assessed directly against the UK teaching standards. No taught programme. No stepping out of the classroom. They compile evidence of their practice, undergo observations and demonstrate that they meet the standard. For a teacher who has been delivering Cambridge A-levels or IGCSE for three years, this is often less about learning new things and more about documenting what they already do.
For teachers who are not quite there yet, strong in some areas with gaps in others, or still working towards their second school, Tes Institute’s Straight to Teaching programme can bridge that gap. It is personalised to what the individual needs, can be as short as one and a half terms, and is built around their existing timetable rather than replacing it.
Both routes are supported by a pathway tutor. Someone who understands the bilingual school context, who knows what it looks like to manage a dual-language classroom. That matters. Support only works properly when it reflects the reality teachers are working in.
The impact on teachers
Teachers are very enthusiastic about these pathways. A key reason for this enthusiasm is that the programmes, especially the Assessment Only route, don't assume that they’re starting from zero. Instead, they recognise that they’re already experienced and working in a school.
For example, I recently encouraged a candidate who had already been teaching for 10 years with an English language teaching background. What he really wanted was to branch out into teaching Business A levels and IGCSEs. Assessment Only is a great pathway for him, because it doesn't require him to start from scratch.
This means that great teachers can qualify through a route that leverages their practice in their actual working environment. For Assessment Only, this can be completed in as little as three months.
The impact on school leaders
For bilingual school leaders, these programmes reframe a problem that has felt permanent.
They enable you to grow your own teachers rather than having to go and recruit new ones. The teacher you hired three years ago knowing they weren't qualified: there is now a credible route to fixing that. The talented local teacher delivering strong results in your IGCSE programme: there is a pathway to international recognition for what they do. The native speaker whose work permit renewal is becoming complicated: you now have something to point to.
It also changes your retention conversation. Offering a pathway to a recognised qualification is a different kind of investment than a salary increment. It tells a teacher you are serious about their future, not just their contribution to your timetable this year.
Finally, for students, parents and the wider school community, it demonstrates that the school is investing in quality teaching, and the teacher is actively reflecting on their practice.
The case for acting now
School leaders in Southeast Asia already know the challenges. They know how hard it is to find qualified teachers. They know what it costs when a good person leaves. They know the pressure building around credentials, work permits and accreditation.
The point is simply this: the solutions exist. They are practical, designed for teachers already in post and available in the region. And the good news is that they can be affordable, flexible and efficient.
School leaders can now encourage their teachers to consider a more diverse range of pathways to qualification than ever before.
If you are a school leader in Southeast Asia and want to explore what qualification routes might be available for your teachers, get in touch with the Tes Institute team. They work with schools in over 120 countries and can help you identify the right pathway for the teachers you already have.
Discover our courses:
Assessment Only
Build on your existing experience as a TA, HLTA or unqualified teacher and get ready for qualified teacher status (QTS) assessment while you continue If you can demonstrate that you're ready for qualified teacher status (QTS) assessment, you could gain QTS within three months, while you continue to work at your current school, with our Assessment Only route.
In school - 3 months
Straight to Teaching
Build on your existing experience as a TA, HLTA or unqualified teacher and get ready for qualified teacher status (QTS) assessment while you continue to work at the school you love, with our personalised Straight to Teaching programme.
Blended - 1.5-5 terms