Students shield themselves from the sun as they line up at a job fair at a university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China Nov. 29, 2018. Tan Qingju/Southern Metropolis Daily via Reuters

MANILA — An online English-teaching platform aimed at the Chinese said Monday it was looking to hire 100,000 Filipinos in the next 5 years to meet growing demand.

The US-listed 51Talk currently employs 18,000 online English teachers, of which, 16,000 are Filipino, said its founder and CEO Jack Huang.

English proficiency is key to tapping demand, with online education estimated to be worth $50 billion, Huang told ANC’s Early Edition.

“We believe that Filipino teachers are the best teachers, best online English teachers in the world to teach Chinese kids,” Huang said.

“Naturally happy and friendly” Filipinos are a perfect fit to educate children ages 5 to 12 years, which make up about 80 percent of 51Talk’s students, he said.

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