Filipinos working in trades such as welding, butchery, and driving have become the fastest-growing segment of people sitting the International English Language Testing System, a development that signals how overseas hiring patterns have shifted away from an almost exclusive focus on healthcare recruitment.
Mike Cabigon, who heads the market for English and exams at the British Council, told a media forum Thursday that the pool of test takers has widened considerably over recent years. “In the past three years, this has diversified into skilled workers taking IELTS,” he said in a GMA News Online report. Among those now registering for the exam are line workers, poultry workers, drivers, welders, and butchers pursuing jobs outside the Philippines.
The scale of that change became clear in Cabigon’s own accounting of the numbers. “For a time, I think in the past two years, we have had more skilled workers taking the test than nurses,” he said. Skilled worker programs in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have given many of these applicants a route to relocate abroad together with their families, according to the British Council official, who added that some had landed placements despite not finishing basic schooling.
Cabigon framed English ability as a currency that reaches well past hospitals and clinics. “Better English communication skills facilitate access to opportunities,” he said. He pointed to demand from business process outsourcing firms, from companies that grew more globally connected after the pandemic, and from the home-based virtual assistant market. Universities abroad add another layer of demand, he said, since institutions teaching in English typically require proof of proficiency from applicants.
The way candidates study for the exam is also being reshaped by technology, particularly for those balancing preparation with full-time work. Cabigon said artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, let candidates rehearse writing and speaking on their own. He noted that several platforms already grade practice writing and speaking against IELTS criteria, giving learners feedback at little or no cost. “There are a lot of resources available online for people who want to take English assessments to practice using AI tools at no cost,” he said.
That endorsement came with a clear limit. Cabigon said AI can reliably handle learners up to the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, but stumbles once finer elements of communication enter the picture. “For B2, C1 and C2 levels, that’s where the nuances of language communication come in—accent, sarcasm, everything—and AI isn’t yet capable to monitor or assess those,” he said. Human examiners remain central to the higher-level tests, even as the organization folds AI into its own teaching and assessment work. “We’re not really shying away from AI. We’re actually using AI tools in our assessments and in the way we prepare our students and test takers,” he said.
The British Council’s stated goal, Cabigon said, is to get candidates ready enough to clear the exam on their first sitting. He highlighted IELTS Ready Premium, a preparation platform bundled at no extra charge for registered test takers, which offers AI-assisted speaking drills and review materials. “You don’t have to pay anything more. It comes free when they register for the test, and they can maximize the resources that we have in the platform,” he said. For candidates who fall just short in a single section, the exam now allows a One Skill Retake, letting eligible applicants redo only one of the four language components rather than the whole test.
