Online English courses for work at the level employers expect

English is the shared working language of most international teams. When you use English at work, you usually talk to other non-native speakers, for example colleagues in Poland, India or Brazil. Being easy to understand therefore counts for more than sounding British or American.

Many fields treat English as a basic requirement. Software development, research, medicine, logistics, aviation, hospitality and any company with international clients run large parts of their work in English. Job adverts rarely name a level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the six-step European scale from A1 to C2. They say business fluent or fluent instead, which roughly corresponds to B2 to C1.

Some professions need English for a licence. Regulators in the UK and Australia, among others, accept the Occupational English Test (OET), an English test for healthcare staff, and professional bodies in nursing and medicine use IELTS to register qualified staff from abroad.

The level you need depends on your tasks. The table combines guide values from the CEFR, the European six-level scale from A1 to C2, with the minimum TOEIC scores that ETS, the US test provider, set for each level. The TOEIC Listening and Reading test scores you from 10 to 990 points.

The TOEIC figures add up the ETS minimums for listening and reading, for example 400 and 385 points for B2. ETS calls these values guidelines, and your employer sets the binding requirement.

A business English course trains how you communicate at work, with emails, calls, meetings, presentations and negotiations. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) trains what you talk about in one profession, with its vocabulary and text types. Both usually start at B1, the third of the six CEFR levels.

Many learners combine both, for example a business English group plus a few one-to-one lessons with the vocabulary of their field.

Cambridge English has discontinued its Business Certificates, formerly called BEC, in all countries except China. Holders keep their certificates. For new proof, employers mostly ask for the tests in the table. CEFR refers to the European six-level scale from A1 to C2.

Linguaskill adjusts the difficulty of each task to your previous answers, and the four skills can be tested separately. TOEIC scores are valid for two years, because ETS only confirms them for that period. A Cambridge certificate such as C1 Advanced never expires, although an employer may still ask for a recent result.

A good business English course starts with a needs analysis, a conversation or questionnaire about your tasks, contacts and difficulties in English. The teacher then plans the course around the situations you face.

• Emails with clear subject lines, polite requests and short follow-ups.
• Video calls and meetings, including how to interrupt, agree and disagree politely.
• Presentations with a clear structure and a question round.
• Negotiations with softening phrases such as 'Would it be possible to' or 'I am afraid that'.
• Small talk before and after meetings, which many English-speaking partners expect.

English business culture often prefers indirect phrasing. A direct translation of a request from another language can sound blunt, so a course practises how to soften it.

Business English courses fit around a full working day in several formats. The prices are rough 2026 guide values.

Small groups meet early in the morning, at lunchtime or in the evening. One-to-one lessons adapt completely to your tasks, and in-company courses work with the company's own material.

Many employers pay for English training that your role requires, in full or in part. A short written request with a target level of the CEFR, the six-level European scale, a date and the cost improves your chances. In several countries, job-related course fees also reduce your taxable income. Some employers agree a repayment clause for expensive courses, which obliges you to repay part of the cost if you leave soon afterwards.