ByteDance, the owner of the short video app TikTok, said that it will hire 10,000 educational professionals, including tutors and course designers, in China over the next four months, according to a post published Friday on its official WeChat account.

The company will also hire at least 3,000 graduates this spring as part of its expansion plan across 11 cities, it stated.

Its education arm, known as Dali, meaning “big force” in English, was established last year and offers everything from pre-school programmes to adult education and smart learning devices.

The business had recruited more than 10,000 employees by October. Chen Lin, ByteDance’s senior vice-president, who previously headed the company’s flagship news app Toutiao, is at the helm of the new venture.

Online education and educational technology has flourished in China in recent months as the pandemic has forced many to study remotely.

The sector is estimated to have grown 35.5% to 257.3 billion yuan (US$39.7 billion) in value in 2020, from the previous year, according to a report by market intelligence firm iResearch.

Online tutoring upstart Zuoyebang recently raised US$1.6 billion from investors including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and rival Yuanfudao is also seeking fresh funding.