Job Discussion Forums

[Balzac]

Hi,

I heard this morning that Technical Trainers College (TTC) in Riyadh employees were sent an email today saying the following:

"I just wanted to inform you that from today and during next week potential future providers will be visiting the college to have a look around."

Does anyone know if that means Lincoln are pulling out after a year of managing the college as many expected they would? Or were they pushed out by the Colleges of Excellence hierarchy?

It would be interesting to hear from any insiders or those who have heard something similar.

B

[desertfox]

Balzac, can we just recap?

How many providers have there now been at TTC after Giz (the original German provider) lost the contract?

Thanks,
Desertfox

[Balzac]

[desertfox]

Balzac,
Also, just to complete the picture, are you are of the extent of staff turnover in the English Dept at TTC during the period since Giz lost the providers contract?

Have there been any changes to the management of the Department specifically, and if so what the impacts have been.

Sorry for so many questions, but as I understand it, this saga has been developing for some time.

Thanks..

[Desert Dueller]

It looks like Lincoln has formally terminated everyone on their books at TTC. However, they have been given a reprieve by the TVTC/CoE to soldier on for the time being. Some staff have been invited to reapply for their jobs, albeit on reduced terms and conditions, i.e. lower salaries and benefits. At least a dozen have been sacked with no option to remain. It therefore seems that the endless turmoil that has marked the last two years at the college is set to continue, with all the associated uncertainty for those remaining, especially with the upcoming holiday period. Who would seriously want to gamble that a job and a room will in fact be there in September? Not worth waiting for, if it were me. Looks like a hook-up with Hull Uni to recruit from there. That'll be the exit for those that have well and truly overstayed their welcome at the college.

[No Place Like Home]

And so it goes on...

I have been following the ups and downs of TTC over the last 5 years, since being a victim of the previous GIZ era, albeit in my private life rather than on a professional level.

I came to the following conclusions way back:

1. Someone somewhere has been profiting big-time from the TTC/TVTC scene in KSA;
2. Those awarded the contract to oversee the running of the college have also been making a fast buck somewhere along the way;
3. 3rd party agencies consistently employed hedonistic, unprofessional, sociopathic individuals to fill the roles because the organisations did not care who came to do the job, they just wanted vacancies filled by puppets and students' bums on seats;
4. People involved in management have been overpaid, arrogant and manipulative individuals who did not care who or what gets discarded as collateral damage along the way;
5. The worst offenders regarding point #4 above ended up being promoted/sidelined or somehow coming up smelling of roses, just to add to the irony and injustice.

Whilst my experience was not as an employee of the college, I still endured a calculated and deliberate destruction in my private life caused by people who had been at TTC, specifically those in the VP department.

Thus, as the old adage goes, mud sticks, and it seems that even newer administration cannot shake the stench of the mess left behind by GIZ staff, which is a great pity for the students and for the genuine staff who were not involved in the darker side of things such as mismanagement or plain egocentrism for personal gain.

No one will ever be held accountable for what has happened at this place or for the damage caused along the way, and it looks increasingly unlikely that the reputation of the college can ever recover from what has been going on over the years.

Would the last person to leave please turn off the lights.

[Lord T]

Lincoln College have been awarded a 3-year contract to run, what is now known as, the Applied Engineering College, Riyadh.

The number of teachers working there is way down on that of previous years: there looks to be about 8 ESL guys there compared to around 30, two years ago.

[ayatollah]

[desertfox]

Lord T states:" The number of teachers working there is way down on that of previous years: there looks to be about 8 ESL guys there compared to around 30, two years ago."



My recollection was that some of the teachers who have now left made a pretty penny on very generous contracts and actually set up plantations no less in such places as the Philippines.

With the state of the job market now in Saudi, the few teachers that are now left could only dream of that I would suggest.

[kiwiinksa]

[kiwiinksa]

[Lord T]

[kiwiinksa]

[BajaLaJaula]

Lord T wrote:
Are the teachers who are 'on the way' native speakers?

KIWI wrote:
Why is that an issue? See if you can actually bring yourself to say what you're thinking.

REALLY....you don't think that hiring non-native English speakers is an issue?

[Lord T]