The new IELTS test centre is located at the 341 King St. East. building. Photo: Dora Liu/The Dialog

For local students who want to further their studies abroad, or international students who need to meet the admission requirements of a college or university, an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test result is always indispensable.

An IELTS is an English-language proficiency test for higher education and global migration, widely recognized by colleges and universities around the world.

As a professional English as a second language (ESL) program provider, George Brown College (GBC) announced on their website that it was authorized to launch an official IELTS test centre at the St. James campus ESL Building at 341 King Street East.

“IELTS is a high-stakes test,” said Chris Hall, George Brown’s IELTS manager, on the GBC website. “It is a critically-important part of many candidates’ college, university, or immigration applications.”

This is convenient for students, especially those in the English for academic purposes (EAP) program, most of whom need an IELTS test to apply to college or university programs.

The centre gives general and academic tests three times a month on Saturdays, and once a month on Thursdays.

Students can register online or in-person at the centre, but if they register online they can get 30 hours of free online test preparation.

After the test, all the candidates are able to check their results online.

The test costs $299 and there is no discount for GBC students.

For more details and registration contact the IELTS at 416-415-5000 ext. 2564 or by email at ielts@georgebrown.ca.

More information can be found on the GBC website, http://www.georgebrown.ca/ielts