Job Discussion Forums

[dorothy1]

Have been offered a contract with this recruiter. Can anybody elaborate on their reputation? Do they pay on time? Livining conditions at locations? concerns? etc.. any help is greatly appreciated...

[It's Scary!]

Can you read? Sorry...possibly you don't know that many refer to them as "Edex" and at least one supporter (not!) refers to himself as "fledex".

It's advisable to use the search funtion for all of these "employers"!

[Cole Katz]

So can someone tell us the latest on EdEx? Has it improved? I would also appreciate a general overview with as many people as possible reminding us what they think/know about EdEx. Thank you.

[JerkyBoy]

What is meant by "Edex"?

[JerkyBoy]

Oh I see - you mean high turnover ... a lot of people quit.

[JerkyBoy]

I have also been offered a contract but from what I read on these boards, they are a nightmare.

Like Dorothy, I would like people to elaborate on current conditions, but with particular reference to King Saud University.

[fledex]

What is written elsewhere is current. Nothing is changing at Edex. Teachers still moved on 24 hours notice, vacations can be with or without pay (depends), etc., etc.

[Captain Willard]

[Joshua Wells]

Re: English Experts
AVOID THIS AGENCY AT ALL COSTS!!!!!! HIGH LEVELS OF INCOMPETENCE!!!!
I should have paid more attention to the negative blogs I read on English Experts, and now I'm getting the word out.....English Experts as an agency, is to be avoided at all costs!
Details follow:
Mr. H (MOD edit),
I have now spent much time on the phone with visa offices trying to locate the work visa for me, which now I find out.....DOES NOT EXIST!
Since signing the contract for English Experts back on December, 21, 2011, I have waiting to hear some communication from you/your office to inform me of the steps I needed to take on my end to secure the work visa. I called no less than 17 offices, and the work visa is not in Washington, DC. nor have you ever provided me with any specific information or steps I needed to take.
I have now found out that there are many things I must to with the Embassy of Saudi Arabia to secure the visa, and each time I would write to you to ask you, specifically, I would never get an answer. No communication at all. The visa is not any closer to me than it was back in December, all because you have never told me what I needed to do here, on my end. This has been too frustrating for me, and I now decided that:
1. I will NOT be taking any job with English Experts in Saudi Arabia.
2. You are INCOMPETENT. It is clear to me that you do not know what you are doing. Your communication skills are very weak (I have proof of this, and all "communications-emails, SKYPE messages, etc. ) will be sent on to the Embassy as well as the job placement sites and blogs as a warning to others in other countries to stear clear of English Experts.
3. It is my goal to get the word out that English Experts is to be avoided, and this will make it difficult for your agency to recruit other foreigners to come there and work for English Experts.
4. I cannot/will not put my employment life in the hands of someone there in Saudi Arabia who does not know what they are doing.

I WILL NOT BE COMING TO SAUDI ARABIA WITH ENGLISH EXPERTS.

You have done nothing to get me there and it is now February, and this process has gone on far too long.
{December 21, 2011-February 3, 2012.}

(MOD edit for names)

[posh]

[JerkyBoy]

[lapd08]

I worked for Edex for 3 months in Riyadh at Princess Nora U. Even if I had not been asked to leave PU (sic) for what they claimed was discussing politics in class (actually, I think it was either because I wouldn't let the brats eat candy in class, or because they thought I was Jewish) I would have gone.

It was a mix of issues with Edex and Saudi Arabia and the school. How much better anyone (especially a single woman) will fare with any recruiting agency, or working in Saudi Arabia period I'm not sure. At the school where I taught there was another agency-Adwaas and all the Edex people thought it was so much better: they were staying in a 5 star hotel as opposed to the hovels Edex housed us in and they were going to be moved to a compound built especially for them. Then, it all began to unravel. It turned out Adwaas was going to put 4 women/villa with only two bathrooms and one dinky washing machine and one kitchen. They also did not seem to be great about paying on time.

My specific complaints with Edex was the complete disorganization and lack of accountability. No one was at the airport to pick me up, I had to wait close to three months to get a health insurance card while others who arrived later than I got theirs in a week, then got no assistance on how to use it or assistance in getting to a facility that accepted it (many didn't accept our insurance). Periodically we would get updates on moving to new housing. In the one instance that we actually saw anything, it was even worse than what we already had. Quite a few people were sharing. Note: Single women cannot rent apartments in KSA, so the housing allowance is misleading and would not even cover the cost of staying in a fleabag hotel.

The transportation was a disaster. Half the time there was no one to pick people up at the end of the day, and some people had to wait over an hour for am rides to school. I gave up on getting rides to other locations (wire service, etc.) and shelled out for a cab with a trusted driver. The rides provided by Edex usually didn't show up, or were hours late.

As to getting paid, it got better as time went on. The first time it took me a total of 7 hours to get paid and get a ride to the headquarters (and it was touch and go as to whether we would get paid or not), then a wire service. The second time, I only had to wait 2 hours in line at the school where they brought the money. The third time I had to go to Edex headquarters to discuss my situation (I was in limbo for a week) and just went upstairs to collect pay. I paid for my own transportation to the wire service.

Basically, every time I had to deal with them I got knots in my stomach from the stress and disorganization. I'm sure it takes years off your life and declined an offer to work for them at another school in a location so remote I could find absolutely no information on it. I also would have been forced to wear a veil (I found out) and by this point was itching to burn my abaya, so that was just not going to work.

What I'd like to know is if people working in KSA in other situations (directly for the school, for Aramco or other recruiting agency) had similar bad experiences. I think short of being whisked from the airport directly to a guarded and gated western compound and staying there for the duration of your contract, except when you leave to go on vacation is the only way working in KSA is bearable. To me it is the worst country in the world, an Islamic Police State where even the most normal or innocent actions are subject to scrutiny and the possibility of punishment/deportation. Again, it's just not worth it.

PS: The students were the worst I've taught anywhere in the world.

[It's Scary!]

[EnglishDoYouSpeakIt]

Am I the only one who is happy with this company?

Been with them three years, I have an Iqama. I've gotten paid every month on time. I took the housing allowance and live in a nice place. I really only deal with them lately once a month for the pay, and the last two months I literally have walked into KSU, got my money and have been out of there within three minutes.

TBH I'm evening suspecting that people are trashing the company so it has trouble recruiting and therefor makes their jobs more secure... Because really, this is KSA and a company can only be as efficient as the country it resides in. That's not a real saying or anything but you understand that a lot of the problems reside in this country being butt backwards.

[It's Scary!]