Job Discussion Forums

[FAQ China]

At a West Street cafe in Yangshuo, I sat down over coffee with Owen Buckland. He explained his system and how it evolved. He lists all his current teachers� address for prospective teachers. He charges schools a deposit to ensure his teachers get paid. He doesn�t penalize them if they want to leave. He puts them through orientation so they know what to expect of the school. During orientation, teachers live and eat free at his training center. I visited the training center and talked at length to his teacher trainer. The rooms are 3 star hotel quality. His teacher trainer wrote her Master�s thesis on Chinese education. (Her husband operates a volunteer organization for rural schools around Yangshuo.) He brings the foreign affairs officers to Yangshuo for orientation so they know what to expect of foreigners. He has a support office for his teachers in the field. He has 120 teachers and works with 64 schools, yet his phone rang only once during an hour long conversation. So apparently he has the situation under control. There are some drawbacks. He works mostly with middle schools, his network is far flung, and each school has only 2 teachers. So you�re rather isolated. But most of his teachers finish their contracts and many return. And of the hundreds of teachers he�s recruited over the years, very few have blacklisted him.

Contrast this with Jesse English Center, based in Guilin an hour from Yangshuo. I spent 6000 yuan crossing the Pacific, only to discover that I didn�t necessarily have a job waiting for me. The Center manager put me in a room with half a dozen teaching assistants. One had a degree in engineering, one had a degree in secretarial work, two had not yet finished their education, one had such low skill the others had to translate for her, only two were fluent, and only one majored in education. And these gals were going to evaluate me. I tried to explain to the Center manager and the chain�s local head teacher: I can�t give you a demonstration lesson without knowing the course, without assessing the background and level of the students, without becoming familiar with the curriculum and the textbook. Meanwhile, the chain�s regional director introduced herself and left, the local manager didn�t speak one sentence to me, and the Center owner was on out of town. I don�t know how many schools he recruits for. I won�t mention the name of the chain, but their Yangshuo branch is across the street from Owen�s storefront office. I'm hoping this was a big misunderstanding, but I'm not betting on it. On the other hand, I've seen several of his ads over the years, and no one has ever blacklisted him.

[vikdk]

this FAQ china guy in another post gives advice from personal experience how to recruit FT's
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?p=44969&highlight=#44969
what a weird post - must be some bad blood between these jesse and owen characters

[InTime]

Good post!
(I know that royal CHAIN school across the street...after my brief experiences with them, I wrote an EMail to their HK office. Never got a reply.)

Owen is a Sagittarian---charming, clever, curious, charismatic.
And...successful!
Interesting observation about the CellPhone (non-)calls

From my experiences with Owen, I'd be glad to write him a Reference Letter.

But...he has enough FTs who can gladly do that.

[DistantRelative]

A lot more could be said about Buckland (not all of it positive), but I'm not going to be the one to do it.

With regards to Owen? He definately has all the qualities the above poster mentioned. Certainly a gift for gab.

With regards to the "Teacher Trainer" the OP mentions? Whenever I'm around her my BS meter begins to fluctuate in a northerly direction.

That being said, I'd consider working for them again.

Zhuhao

[nolefan]

I know first hand of how tough the recruiting business can be in China and I must take my hat off to Owen for his work and achievements in this market.
While I have never met the guy or had dealings with him, I would still rank him in the top 3 most reliable recruiters in China.

[Sinobear]

Owen Buckland is a snake.

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/review/index.pl?read=4488

I have met him, talked with him, and seen the results of his "dedicated labours."

He is a snake, pure and simple, and those who are conned by his charms, have no grip on reality, nor do they have any idea of just what his "business" does to FTs in China.

There's sooooooooo much info already in these Forums should one just use the "search" function.


Cheers!

[Roger]

Some foreign guys promised Owen to be recruiting for him; they thought this was their ticket to Eldorado. They were astonished to find out they didn't make much money - there weren't enough takers, and the few had to be coaxed and wheedled. THe situation is this: you get 20 applicants, or 300 for a single position; each and everyone is asking up to 40 questions, many of which more than once. Weeks go by and sometimes months - and in the end these procrastinators give up because their girlfriends convince them to fly out to the Bahamas or somewhere else.

Of all the agents, Owen tries his very best - which you can't say of most others.

[DistantRelative]

For my money the link and story you posted is a huge crock Sino. I've met Owen personally on a number of occasions at all different hours of the day and night and never once have I seen him lift a glass or be inebreated.

I created a bad situation of a personal nature (crazy female)at a school I was working at. Despite it being entirely my fault I was still able to call Owen, extremely late one night, explain the problem, and retain his full support and help in dealing with the matter.

Personally I think in the case of Owen for every bad story you hear posted about him your just as likely to hear a number of other good ones.


Zhuhao

[yamahuh]

I have personally met and frequently socialised with 3 or 4 people who worked for Owen and they have all had nothing but good things to say about him and his organization.

Just my 2 cents worth...

[prof]

I have never met him.

I have met Bing Liang of Delter/Telfort fame.

He's a very interesting fellow. And Simon of Holmes Colleges (Australia). Also, very interesting.

[Sinobear]

I have met, and personally worked with 3 people who got their jobs through him. None (that's zero, nil) were qualified to teach in China. None (again, nada) had any experience teaching. Common traits? L visas. Length of contracts? As long as their L visas were valid.
During my little sojourn with him, he also received one phone call. Talked a FT out of dreams for 7K salary down to his standard pittance of 3.5-4K, saying that this is all that's allowed by Chinese law.
I have never (that's NEVER) worked for less than 8K/month all inclusive. Where does the difference go?
I'll give him this, he certainly knows the 'business' and has no problems giving schools and FTs the 'business'. I really don't know why so many people glorify him when he's just a recruiter - nothing more, nothing less. And since Roger and InTime vouch for him, that should be all one needs to know how Mr. Buckland operates (that's a cruise missile broadside if there ever was one!).
And yes, he has nice pictures of FTs on his website. Many outdated, many without explicit permission, many no longer at the schools listed.
Lastly, I am still at a loss as to why these little posts always turn up with someone glorifying a school or organization that reads like an advertisement. It's one thing to post a 'heads up' or share a positive experience, but quite another when the thread reads like a well-scripted advertisement.
So, FAQ China, why the sudden urge to 'share' your story?



Cheers!

[Henry_Cowell]

[stillnosheep]

FAQ: Who are you?

As Owen has sold the rights to the name 'Buckland' along with the Buckland organisation and that he currently operates out of Yangshuo under a different name you need to give a little more info about who you are and which organisation you represent.

[klaus]

[Roger]