Job Discussion Forums

[goodwork002002]

Does anyone have first hand knowledge/experience of Aston English Schools? Working environment? Management style and practices? Safe? Enjoyable? Not dodgey?

What about corporate training opportunities at Oxford Associates (a part of Aston) in Beijing and Shanghai?

Thank you very much for your input.

bruce

[Seuss930]

Aston is hit or miss. If possible, get a job at the company owned schools such as Jinan or Dalian and such. Those Chinese franchisees get a bit crazy at times and Aston will probably not back you up much if they try to cheat you (especially if it's a successful school and is making them alot of money)

Also, bigger, older schools are much more equipped to handle VISA issues.

The franchisees don't care much about their contract with aston, many have never actually read it. They just wanted to open an English school and make money and the ONLY REASON they buy a name is because they can't get foreign teachers by themselves. Most of them (from my personal experience) hate Aston and the idea that they are not the top dog. Many of them try to treat the foreign teachers like they do their common employees (all or almost all of the franchisees own their own businesses) which is to say - terrible.

One franchisee told me that "a three legged frog is hard to find in China, but a two-legged worker, well, those are everywhere"

The older company owned schools usually have happy or at least satisfied teachers. Jinan and Dalian get very few complaints I think. If you do your job well, they USUALLY give you a schedule and leave you alone.

There are worse schools to work for.

Don't know much about their Oxford Associates.

[goodwork002002]

Well ... thank you "Seuss" ...

Great insight on Company owned versus franchisee ... "I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more' (Dylan) ... if I can help it

So ... I'm pushing the Aston Recruiter on Dalian (which was my first choice) ... certainly a Company school .... I like the energy of Xian

thank you kindly ... love how we all help each other ... when we do

[Daphne]

When they first started out they were caled AES, but the semi-joke goes that they finally changed it to Aston because the original stood for Almost Everything Sucks!

At around the same time as their name change, they also discontinued the forum on their site which always had quite a few valid complaints by former employees.

My manager there was an alcoholic who on one occasion barged into my class drunk, asking is "is there a class going on here?" The last I heard he was peddling greeting cards in the UK, and the branch has long gone belly up.

This is an organization that thrives on the bottom line, without much regard for either its employees or clients. It often hires "teachers" without a BA (there is another recent thread on this matter), and favors fresh grads from College for "managerial" spots which they of course do not have the experience for...their housing standard also is usually below what most teachers in China get.

Those in charge of the branch where I worked, thought it was hilarious that they would get the cheapest posssible textbooks (filled with all sorts of egregious spelling errors and such) and learning materials for the students, and still charge as much as they liked.

Avoid this organization like the plague, that is if you are an experienced teacher with any scruples.

[goodwork002002]

Well, Daphne ... phewwwwww

Yes, I am quite experienced in teaching (127,000 hours classroom time, 15,000+ students) and not inexperienced about foreign cultures (27 countries for anywhere from 3 months to 2 years) ... yet China truly challenges me ... the 60 year old "law" (I'm 63) ... the "60% of ESL teachers" there on "fake diplomas" ... the wide mix of types of schools to fully understand ....

And ... yet ... I have been in love with all things Chinese since my first Chinese born teacher at preparatory school ... plus at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University ... of the 80 countries represented in our class ... the Chinese fascinated me ..... I always envisioned China as my last few decades ..

Thank you for the warning on Aston ... yes they were quite disingenuous in their communications about the law prohibiting them hiring anyone my age ("cut off date 50 except in Dalian it's 60) ... then turned around and said Country manager said to still hire me ... hmmmn

I was interested because they own Oxford Associates in Beijing and Shanghai that is a corporate training company (my profession) ... tho B and S , as Chinese cities, don't call me.

Thank you for your personally informed feedback.

[inchinanow]

do the math

aston + contract = nightmare

good luck

[Rob Aston]

I think Aston is getting a slightly unfair bashing here, I used to work for them and yes I terminated early and walked but this was mainly over a housing issue.

It does totally depend on where you go as they sell the brand to nearly anyone however a bit of research and you should be ok. Jinan, Dalian, Xian are their big centres however others totally depend on who the franchisee is.

[inchinanow]

You mention that the experience varies widely depending on location. Just my point: It is a big gamble about what type of experience you will have. It is a risk and if you sign a contract, they feel like they own you.

[Rob Aston]

True but I think the real lesson with any franchise school is that just because different schools have the same company name doesn't mean theyre the same company, you just have to research individual ones and treat each branch as a totally different school.

[inchinanow]

I researched an Aston branch in Shenyang, before coming to China. I was happy with the branch manager and the staff at the time. Then two months after I started, they hired a new manager and some good people left. The Regional Director quit also.

The new manager was a psycho. She also had her boyfriend working at the school with her. I was appalled one day when I looked up on the board and saw a poster, with the boyfriend�s picture at the top. Under him were pics of the Chinese staff. It looked like a "Dear Leader" Propaganda poster. But that was just an omen of things to come and the situation got progressively worse from there. I finally quit and moved to another school.

[JZer]

[Non Sequitur]

I think OP has better options than a mill.
Given age and romantic notions about China - wait til you get here mate! - I feel a public uni or vocational college is your best start point.
Good timing as there are a lot of ads around for the autumn start.

[JZer]

I would love to take a job at a university but I can only stay in China for two months which is why I am considering working at Aston.

If I was going to stay long term I would look for a university in Guangzhou or Hangzhou.

[Non Sequitur]

My comment was directed to OP.