Job Discussion Forums

[myownwoman]

http://www.bucklandgroup.org/

Hello all! I am considering working for them, though I have read reviews online complaining this school, actually the owner Owen Buckland is not to be trusted. The reviewers mentioned he would cheat teachers out of their salary, not fulfill the promises mentioned in the contract, or the teachers were not even legally allowed to work!

I do not know what to think. I hope some of you can provide an honest explanation on this school. Whether I should/should not work for them.

Thanks!

[xiguagua]

I worked with them for a year and a half when I first came to China. Yeah there's a lot of bad stuff online about Owen, but most of that was because of his brother. Actually Owen was really great to me, we sent emails back and forth, when I had banking troubles he handled it, when I had problems with the school, he handled it, when I was unhappy with my location and wanted to break contract to go on my own, he allowed me to break contract with no penalty.

I was always paid on time via direct deposit to my bank account which I could check (This may differ because I had a new school so the school paid him upfront and he in turn transfered it to me. Most schools will pay you directly in cash). I think now the Buckland salaries have gone down a bit, maybe to 4k as opposed to 5k when I was there, but the jobs are almost all in rural China where 4k will suffice if you don't blow your money on all kinds of stuff.

The only thing is that a lot of times they do get you a Z Visa for Guilin.....which if you don't work in Guilin can (and these days probably will) be a problem for you which may make you do a HK visa run. When I came for the first time.....I was on a L visa ::Gasp:: they gave me the Z visa for Guilin......when I got to Hunan they told me it's not acceptable and I had to go to HK to get a new one. So I went, BUT since it was Bucklands fault, they paid for my trip. Paid for the train tickets, the hotel costs, the visa costs everything. So basically I got a free trip to hong kong. Not too bad if you turn that negative into a positive.

IMO Buckland is one of the more reputable agencies in China. I read a lot about their negative press as well, but they hire a ton of teachers each term, most of the negative reviews seemed to be from some mommas boys who couldn't live in China. I'm sure he has cheated people at some point, but I had a good experience and if I needed a job fast, i'd go back to them.

[myownwoman]

Thank you so much xiguagua for your honest review. I do think they have integrity and credibility built into the company. I will do some more thinking but hope to work for them sometime next year. The website has pictures of all the in/outgoing teachers. It seems they get a new influx yearly; which means they are a good place to work at. I really appreciate the orientation and the TEFL courses they teach.

Thanks again for your comments.

[xiguagua]

Yeah they do have teachers photos up there but keep in mind some of them haven't been updated. I see names and teachers at locations that I know have left or worked there 2 years ago. But they do have a constant stream of people coming in.

The orientation and training they provide is pretty great. I would never compare it to a genuine TEFL or TRINITY course but it does enough to get people that know nothing about China semi-prepared. And right next to Bucklands building is a English school that gives you infinite chances to talk to the students there (high school age) and you even get to practice teaching with their classes which is good. And of course, they have their own students (adults) that are on site as well that can help you get introduced to the location and give you a feel as to what students want and need help with.

Whenever i'm in Yangshuo I drop by just to say hello and kinda keep up some guanxi, always good to have somewhere you can crawl back to if you need some help ASAP and there's no one else.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

This message has been brought to by the Buckland Group.



But seriously, folks. Just curious how a for-profit group get a non-profit domain name. :

[Denim-Maniac]

Anyone can have a .org website address. They arent reserved for specific activities / organisations / websites.

[xiguagua]

[Javelin of Radiance]

[China Tesol]

I searched and found they have several website of Buckland:
www.bucklandedu.com
www.bucklandgroup.com
www.buckland.com.cn
www.bucklandgroup.net
I think Buckland just want to occupy more domain names.

[MESL]

[kungfuman]

[fat_chris]

The Buck stops here!

Passin the Buck!

Hey buddy, can you lend me a Buck?

And on and on it goes.

And so on.

Warm regards,
fat_chris

[myownwoman]

Wow thanks for all your honest comments. You have given me so much to think about. I am hoping the horror stories I am reading are isolated. Possibly they won't happen to people now or ever.

[Denim-Maniac]

Have a look on Facebook. There is a group there. Search Buckland International Education. Looks like you can talk to lots of ex/current and prospective Bucklanders there.

[MESL]

Owen has a person in charge of everything. One member of his headquarters staff is in charge of visas, one is in charge of training, one is in charge of housing, etc.

I sat down for lunch with him in Yangshuo as he explained his whole operation. In spite of having dozens of teachers scattered all over China, his phone rang only once during that hour. That was an indication to me that he has his entire operation under total control.