With all the talk of recession and economic woes, current and potential Madrid English teachers may be wondering if the booming Madrid TEFL market is on the point of collapse. 

First of all, Spain is not yet in recession. Yes, there is a slowdown, but the economy is still growing. Not by a huge amount, but growing yes. While everyone accepts that there are economic problems (President Zapatero's "Crisis, what crisis?" mantra is beginning to wear a bit thin, even for party loyalists)  some industries have shown no signs of slowing down. So, is the Madrid English teaching market one of them?

Well, it's July at the moment, so the corporate market has gone into summer hibernation. However, the summer camps for teenagers and children are in full swing and I have to say that  I haven't heard even the slightest hint of a rumour that demand has fallen. Quite the opposite,in fact. 

September and October will tell the story as to whether or not the enormous demand for English classes will slow down or not.  But, to be honest, I don't forsee any problems (with one exception mentioned below). 

 How can I be so sure, you may be asking? Well, May and June is the time of year when I ring clients to speak about the upcoming academic year. And nobody has mentioned the economic situation yet as a reason for not having classes. For most human resources departments, its  carry on as  normal, as far as I can see.

One big exception. I contacted a few property and construction companies. They were all unanimous is saying that they plan not to spend a cent more than necessary. Yup, cost cutting across the board. I don't know if  they will cut or eliminate English classes, but there was a definite air of desperate negativity in the training departments. 

So, if you are already an English teacher in Madrid, Spain, or you are thinking of coming to Spain to teach English, should you be worried? At the moment,  no. Demand seems to be booming still with little signs of it reducing. 

So, we can be quite confident that there will be lots of jobs out there for Madrid TEFL English teachers after the summer break.  

July 2008