Job Discussion Forums

TK4Lakers · Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 159

I have another quick question. I have two offers on the table, Interac and KTC (Peppy Kids Club).

I have already signed with Interac and have yet to tell KTC about my decision. I've done my research, and both have their +'s, but Interac's ALT position and chance to teach in the school system is most appealing to me, and KTC's "eikaiwa" label turns me off.

I just wanted any opinions/thoughts/comments from you all concerning these two companies. Am I making the right decision? Or is KTC a very good company and Interac a dump and I'm making a huge mistake?

joshua s · Joined: 18 Oct 2005 Posts: 6

I worked for PKC for 18 months 2 years ago. I think its a fine job if you like Kids. You do have the opportunity to travel (not so often) with them to teach at other PKC schools in Japan. I enjoyed my time with PKC...however sometimes its a headache. Good luck

Willy_In_Japan · Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Posts: 329

I work for Interac as an ALT, and find it much more satisfying than conversation school.

If you have committed to them, I would take the job.

If you really want to work with young kids, you can get your fill working at an Elementary school as an ALT.

wangtesol · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 280

Join the union at Interac. You can quickly learn what their management tricks are and what rights you have. www.interacunion.org KTC does not have a union as far as I know.

[email protected] · Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Posts: 67

For those of you unfamiliar with unions in Japan, there are no closed shops here. That means individual teachers have a choice whether or not to join.

There are pros and cons to this state of affairs. A few years ago I witnessed a situation where 3 teachers out of a staff of 17 formed a union and made a set of absolutely foolish demands that the remaining 14 teachers wanted no part of. It almost destroyed the school. If there must be unions, a closed shop it probably a better system.

There is one advantage though, with voluntary membership. It shows whether or not a union has any suppport.

The Interac union has managed to attract less than one percent of its teachers.

Enough said.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

wangtesol · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 280

You could have a union representing 80% of all its employees, yet it could still be badly run and incompetent. It is about quality, not quantity which is a concept that escapes many bean counters.

ALT dispatching companies by their very nature are hard to organize since employees are spread out all over the country with 3 people in one town and 2 in another, unlike NOVA or Berlitz where hundreds of teachers are employed in a single city. And added to this is the extreme lack of job security where the turnover rate for ALTs is very high. It is harder to find an ALT who has worked for more than 1 year than at an eikaiwa.

And in the special case of Interac, they get over 600 employees each year from Brigham Young University, their missionary affiliate. These 600 are very unlikely to join a union and come into conflict with a company that has such special religious ties with their alma mater.

I think if you excluded these 600 from the 1000 that Interac employs, you would get 1% or more.

Sage · Joined: 09 Apr 2003 Posts: 144 Location: Iwate no inaka!

You could always try to get a job with Altia... but if not, I think Interac is the necxt best option.

yamanote senbei · Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Posts: 435

Altia is also breaking the law, Sage. Almost all ALT supply companies are breaking the law as are the schools and/or BOEs that receive ALTs from ALT "dispatchers". Eikaiwa companies have the legal right to do business, although admittedly the do break the law. ALT companies, most of them, don't have the legal right to do the business that they are doing.

I'd suggest that Tkimura take the Interac job, then fight to make it a direct hire.

http://nambufwc.org/issues/alt