Teaching at Apollo
We offer:
- Commitment to professional development and high teaching standards
- Competitive packages
- Wide range of resources and modern facilities
- Variety of course types
- Opportunities for development and promotion
- Internal and external training programme
- Academic and personal support from a dedicated team
- The chance to teach in and experience the real Vietnam in Danang, Haiphong and other provincial cities and towns
- Opportunities to transfer to our different centres in Vietnam
- Apollo-funded social evenings
- Outside class activities programme for students
- 2 week summer camps every year
- Televised summer gala production
- Chance to be on Vietnamese TV or radio!
Professional Development
We are committed to high standards of teaching and training for teachers. Our professional development program includes:
- Regular observations schedule plus ‘pop-in’ observations
- Annual Professional Development Interviews
- Regular training workshops
- IH in-service courses (e.g. the IHCYL and BET)
- Cambridge Oral Examiner Training for Young Learners, BULATS, ICFE
- DELTA sponsorship available (after 3 months employment) of up to $1000 on passing, plus a further 25% of fees per further year working for Apollo (up to a maximum of $1000 per year and a total of $4000)
- Internal promotion opportunities
* Please see the training section of our website for further information on training.
Competitive Package
Costs of living are such that you can enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle in Vietnam – most of our teachers eat out every night, and spend holidays travelling in Asia without working too hard to save
- Salary: 1160 USD – 1500 USD per month (pay award pending), depending on qualifications and experience (tax is payable on a sliding scale, most teachers pay around 10%)
- Medical insurance allowance: 550 USD per year
- Flight allowance: 500 USD per year (paid at the end of contract)
- Bonus: End of year bonus is paid at $1 per hour taught during the year. Teachers are contracted to teach 240 hours/quarter, so bonus will usually be at least $850 (allowing for annual leave, national holidays and sick days). If teachers teach over their required hours they will be paid per hour plus increase their bonus. (NB Bonus is also taxable income)
- 20 [twenty] working days paid annual leave and an additional nine [nine] paid days off for national holidays.
- DELTA sponsorship available (after 3 months employment) of up to $1000 on passing, plus a further 25% of fees per further year working for Apollo (up to a maximum of $1000 per year and a total of $4000)
Payment
Teachers are paid on the 5th of each month (unless it falls on a weekend or national holiday when you will be paid the following day).
Payments are in VND, at the current month’s exchange rate, and are paid into a local bank account. Apollo will help you set up your account, for which you can obtain an ATM card for a small fee.
When you first arrive you will need to budget for a few weeks accommodation in a hotel, plus 2 months rent (one deposit and one month’s rent in advance), plus living costs for a month til pay day (5th of every month unless it falls on a weekend when it will be the Monday after the 5th) - you might need to bring about $2000 maximum. on average, you need approximately $300 for rent – possibly less if you are in a shared house, more for a one bedroom flat) per month. Hotels are about $15 per night if you want aircon, hot water, fridge and a room with a window close to the centre of town. It is possible to find hotels cheaper but they may not have all the services required.
If you need an advance on your salary for initial expenses such as house deposits this can usually be arranged. You can send money home by bank transfer from your local bank account. You will need to fill out several forms, and take proof that you have paid tax on your income. Apollo will provide you with a tax payment letter, and information about the process.
Wide range of courses
YL/ Kindy / G.E./ IELTS / TOEFL preparation courses, plus Business English, English for Academic Purposes and specialised courses (e.g. Pronunciation), 1-2-1 online courses, overseas study preparation courses as we expand our program for corporate & public clients.
Teachers are encouraged to teach across a range of courses.
We also run courses in other cities as part of our corporate program, and there are opportunities to be based in Danang or to spend time in one of the provincial cities or towns (for example Haiphong), to really get a feel for Vietnam.
Timetable
240 hours per quarter - normally scheduled at 21-23 hours per week. The Kindy program is at the weekends year round. YL courses are often at the weekend; although as we expand our work with Vietnamese schools, we run an increasing number of YL courses during the week off-site. Most adult teaching hours are in the evening, although some corporate teaching is daytime. Classes run from 7.30am to 9.45pm, 7 days a week, with mornings and evenings the most popular. Split shifts are inevitable, but we try to keep them to a minimum for individuals.
Wide range of resources and modern facilities.
All locations have fully equipped training rooms and support facilities. The head offices for each location have audio and video equipped training rooms, cable TV viewing station, multimedia library and internet facility with access to specialised TEFL resource sites. There are world-class teacher resource rooms in every training centre with an extensive variety of supplementary resources, photocopiers, TVs, DVD players, CD/cassette players, OHPs, slide projectors, LCD projectors, materials, games and realia which can be used in adult or young learner classes.
Support
Apollo provides academic and personal support from a dedicated team.
The Academic team includes an Academic Manager, Academic Coordinators and/or Senior teachers plus support staff in each location. They are there to support you in both academic and personal matters and will help you settle into your new life in Vietnam.
There are around 40-50 full and part time teachers in Hanoi and 20-25 in HCMC, depending on the time of year. Your colleagues have experience ranging from just a year up to ten or more, and several are DELTA or MA qualified, so there will always someone to share ideas with and/or learn from.
* Please see section ‘services Apollo provides on arrival’ for further information on support given to teachers.
Visa
The procedure for obtaining a Vietnamese business visa is as follows:
1. Human Resources Department will send the teacher a teaching contract via email.
2. The teacher must then sign the first page of the contract and either fax or scan/email it to HR.
3. HR will then take the signed contract page to Immigration and apply for the business visa on the teacher’s behalf. This process takes five working days.
4. once the visa application has been approved, Immigration will fax a visa reference to the Vietnamese Embassy in the country where the teacher will pick up her/his visa.
5. once HR has the visa reference information, they will email the teacher the information, and the visa is ready for processing.
6. The teacher can now either: 1) take the visa reference in person to the Vietnamese Embassy and pick up her/his visa, or 2) post (via registered mail) the visa reference to the Vietnamese Embassy for visa processing.
There may be delays in processing your visa (i.e.: it may not be returned to you the same day); please take this into account when arranging for the processing of your visa.
Please note that in order to process the visa, the Embassy will need: 1) the visa reference, 2) the teacher’s passport, 3) two passport photographs, and 4) the visa fee (which will change depending on country of issue).
The teacher should request and retain receipts for the visa; Apollo will reimburse the teacher for this cost. If you do not receive a receipt, due to governmental tax codes, Apollo will only be able to reimburse you for the current visa prices in Vietnam less 10%.
Work Permit
New regulations mean obtaining a work permit is compulsory. The process is a little complicated, but Apollo will do most of the work for you.
You will need to get a criminal background check from your home country before you arrive and bring it with you.
You must also bring original copies of your degree and TEFL Certificate. Copies will definitely not be accepted by the authorities.
You will need to undergo a medical check here in Vietnam (including a blood test), to be cleared as fit to work. Apollo will cover all costs incurred within Vietnam for full time teachers. You are responsible for the administrative fees charged for background checks and any notarization in your own country.
Dress Code
Teachers are held in high regard in Vietnam, and therefore are expected to present a very professional image. This means traditional ‘business-like’ clothing – formal pants/trousers and shoes, shirt and tie for the men, and formal trousers or skirt, shirt with collar and sleeves for women.
A teacher that falls short of these standards will find their credibility suffers, no matter how good their teaching. Teachers coming to work at Apollo need to be prepared to maintain the dress code.
Extra Curricular Activities Programme
Apollo runs a range of regular activities for students and potential students such as Speaking Club, Movie Nights and Quiz Nights. Other recent events have included an Easter Egg Hunt, Networking, Bowling and Speed Dating (extremely popular!).
You will be scheduled to take part in extra curricular activities as required, although we will try to take your tastes and interests into account. Admin rate (50% of teaching rate) is paid for participation in events.
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