Job Discussion Forums

[ghostdog]

Anyone know anything about this place? I think the full name of the school is Business and Professional English Centre. There were a couple of uncomplimentary things posted, but they're a couple of years old and I am wondering if anyone has had any more current dealings with them.

Also, the salary range is posted at 10500 - 12000 Moroccan Dirhams net. How suitable is this for living in Casablanca? I'm not a nightlife person but don't really wish to be trapped in my flat, either. Thanks for any info.

[Brooks]

as long as you do not have debt, the money is ok.

If the boss is still the Yemeni fellow, stay clear.
I heard complaints about BPEC from foreign as well as Moroccan teachers.
But that was six years ago.

[Desert Storm]

I am interested in BPEC as well but I noticed no one has been to this thread for almost 4 months. Any update on the institute? Generally good place/bad place? Thanks.

[Desert Storm]

Brooks,

You mentioned before about staying clear of that Yemeni fellow. what exactly should we stay clear of? I got an offer from them recently and wonder if it's worth the headaches.

[Brooks]

well if he is still in charge, don`t expect things to have been changed for the better.

[Desert Storm]

one last question Brooks (thanks for the previous posts)...what exactly did the foreign and local employees complain about? pay on time? housing? administration? stress? etc.

appreciated

[Brooks]

I can`t remember precisely, but it was a negative vibe and I heard complaints from foreign and Moroccan teachers alike.
I think the boss acted like a micromanager.
He would emphasize the word "professional" and teachers thought that was bad. Not exactly sure what that meant, maybe about the dress code and/or the expected conduct of teachers.

One British woman worked there, then didn`t renew her contract, but then went back after a year. She worked at EF for a year and concluded that BPEC was better and I was surprised when she told me that since she did gripe some about the place, in a weary sort of way.
She wanted to stay in Casablanca, so I guess she thought that she couldn`t be too picky.

Another teacher came from Australia and didn`t last a week at BPEC. In the end I think she went to Italy. She was odd, though.

[will_i_m]

hey desert storm, did you end up taking that job? could you tell me a bit more about it or send me a link through pm to the school?

if you took the job and are there, how is it going?

thanks

[dotj]

Is there any further update? I am looking for a job in Morocco and am considering sending my resume.

[snooty]

My advice is avoid them like the plague or swine flu! No animal pigs in Morocco, yet plenty of the human kind. This school is so disorganised and difficult to get correct salary, things change every day, Directors of Studies can not even remember teachers' names. Company just interested in making money, little else, particularly the welfare of the teachers.

[Hod]

TwinCentre and I, not Morocco's greatest aficionados, never worked at BPEC, but we did know a couple of teachers who did about four years back. It didn�t sound perfect, but it was one of the better employers in Casa and paid OK. I think after the Brit Council and AMIDEAST, BPEC must be the next best. If I had my time again, I wouldn�t set foot in the cultural desert of Casa, but some people like it, so hopefully my view is more balanced than snooty�s.

[TwinCentre]

BPEC seems to attract a cosmopolitan bunch, at least you will have a varied selection of collegues, whereas the other language schools seemed to me to be full of middle aged British women looking for their 'Shirley Valentine' moment.

The two or three teachers I knew there seemed to have got on the right side of the boss and enjoyed working there

[snooty]

I am not sure where previous posters received their information. Bpec perhaps was better in the past. The reality now is very different. There were no native speaker teachers returning to Bpec in September 2008 to begin a new contract, from the previous academic year. This makes me wonder why? The administration at the school is chaotic and there are continual errors. Teachers are continually worried if they will receive the promised monthy wage. Certainly not a place where Shirley Valentine would like to be. I myself, would prefer to work where she is, much more fun.

[Hod]

Snooty�s BPEC knowledge is more up-to-date than mine, but native speakers not renewing contracts after a year is not the stuff of headlines; it�s the nature of the TEFL beast.

In the short history of that British Council there, not one London-contracted teacher has ever renewed a contract nor the Teaching Centre Manager or even the Country Director based in Rabat, a bloke with full diplomatic status and no doubt an even fuller bank account.

The reasons were, without exception, wanderlust, boredom or moving on to get another London contract. The only people who stayed on were locals (who know they are lucky because jobs are rarer than gold dust there) and the foreign women married to Moroccans.

BPEC might be a total pigsty now, don�t know, but teachers moving on after completing their contracts in Casablanca is hardly an outrage.

[Nora22]

I knew a couple of people who worked at .B.P.E.C. two- three years ago, when I was working in Casa. They never had any complaints about being paid on time. In fact, there were several months that they didn�t have many classes at all, and still were paid. (The hourly rate was VERY good those months.) This school specializes in business English, and, therefore, the times of classes are spread over mostly non-business hours. I wouldn�t like this, but some people don�t mind. The main thing here is that you are teaching 100% adults, who want to be there, so motivation and discipline are not issues. If you have ever taught in S. Korea or Taiwan, you will appreciate that! About the only gripes that I remember were about Saturday classes, but they were very upfront about that when they recruited, and it wasn�t required all year. Never heard anything about people getting stiffed on salary, in fact, I think they paid vacation, airfare, etc. I agree that it is the norm for teachers to leave after one year, it happens all the time, everywhere, just something about the kind of person who does this work, I would venture?