Senior staff at EF Education First in China are the first to take the international version of English UK's management qualification.

The English UK Diploma in ELT management (DELTM) has run annually in the UK since 1998, with ten face-to-face sessions, practical assignments and a final project taking place over a year.

The qualification has been adapted for international delivery and tailored to the requirements of EF Education First which has organised the International DELTM for its staff. All the face-to-face sessions will run during an initial fortnight in Shanghai: assignments and follow-up work will be done online, with input from academic course director George Pickering.

"We're really excited to be extending the huge benefits of the DELTM outside the UK for the first time, and hope this will encourage language centres in other countries to look at upskilling their managers in this way," said Huan Japes, English UK's Membership Director. He added: "We've spent a lot of time working out how we can deliver the course more flexibly and with a more international focus, whilst retaining its academic integrity and practicality. We're keen to talk to other groups of centres who would like to be involved."

Eighteen managers from EF Education First centres in China are participating in the course, which begins on 9 October. Allen Nazari, the company's senior academic programme manager, said EF Education First had benefited from running a diploma for managers once before. "Many of those managers stayed on and progressed in their careers with EF, making an impact on both their teams and the thousands of students in their centres and regions. We anticipate that the DELTM will also provide the same value to participant, organisation and our students."

He added: "One point that particularly stands out is that the course includes both practical and theoretical aspects of ELT management. I believe our trainees will get a lot out of learning new theories, trying them out in the workplace and reflecting on the outcomes."

English UK's long experience with the qualification and the reputation of academic course director George Pickering had been key factors in choosing the DELTM, he said. 

Course leader George Pickering said: "Managers are very busy people and the 10-month course will give them the chance to reflect on what they do, acknowledge what they are already doing well and consider where they might want to make changes in the light of course content, comments from colleagues in other EF centres and feedback from their tutor. They will get the chance to share best practices with colleagues from other parts of EF Education First in China, and as I have learnt a bit about the organisation and its operations, we will be inviting them to look critically at their current performance management systems.

"I am really looking forward to it. I have run three management courses in China already and it will be great to be delivering the DELTM this time. I learn something new on each course so I am curious to find out what I will learn on this course."

The course includes 10 face-to-face sessions covering key modules such as organisational behaviour, personal effectiveness, people management, marketing, finance, academic management, customer care and change management. There are six online modules to support students as they write their assignments. 

Interested in bringing the English UK International DELTM to your region? Contact training @englishuk.com to discuss how it could meet your needs.