Job Discussion Forums

[angrysoba]

It seems that all of the Big Four are currently expanding beyond their means in a desperate scramble for hegemony.

NOVA are being talked about as the sinking ship now on another thread but GEOS also seem to be having troubles of their own right now, their student numbers are dwindling and schools are cutting back on staff. ECC went through a period of expansion a few years back but can they maintain their postition?

Has anyone also noticed that none of the Big Four use famous actors and Western celebrities in their advertising anymore? Can't AEON afford the likes of Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor anymore?

Are they all fighting some kind of war of attrition in which they are hoping to bankrupt the others?

If so one of them has to give at some point, who is it going to be?

[guest of Japan]

Ewan McGregor was a complete failure for advertising for AEON. Most Japanese had no idea who he was. The two Japanese actors they are using now are a complete success, which is why they've been using them for years.

Still, the whole industry is having a harder time now. AEON used to make most of its money on government refunded student contracts. That system in no longer in use, so AEON is having to merge a lot of the kids schools with the adult schools. Since AEON never went nuts with school openings, they aren't really having a big problem. They made huge profits form 2000 to 2004 and pretty much consider the current environment as a stabalization.

[JimDunlop2]

Instead of a "death poll" you should create a "death pool" where everyone throws in 5000yen and their wager who will bite it first -- winner gets the kitty...

[markle]

Yeah Jim, that'll come in handy if people pick thier own school and become unemployed.

[Like a Rolling Stone]

Yoiks! What do the teachers do if their company goes belly up? Can you get paid? If you can't get paid and you have no money do you get deproted?

[angrysoba]

That's a nice idea Jim except for the fact that I don't want to win any money in a bet that involves mass unemployment. I am only asking if people will agree that there will be a casualty in this saturated market. My own belief is that GEOS will go. I know alot of people there who see a massive iceberg on the horizon and the wisdom of the company seems to be to charge at it as fast as possible.

[PAULH]

[wangtesol]

[guest of Japan]

I don't remember what they were called in Japanese. I haven't worked there in a couple years. Basically the governemt gave one year refunds to citizens who took up English study at AEON. They had to have about 70% attendance and at the end of the year the students would get back the cost of the lessons. Because of this, AEON's bread and butter was very expensive, small class, grammar focused lessons. These lessons are usually way out of most people's budgets, but they were actually effective in impoving student English ability.

[angrysoba]

Kyufukin was the name of the system you were talking about. The problem with it was that the vast majority of students that took advantage of this system chose not to renew contracts. They couldn't afford the high prices of most of the Big Four's contracts and so quit at the end of their kyufukin contracts. In fact, very few students could actually afford such contracts without taking out loans. Recently, there have been a number of scandals involving loan providers, notoriously the one that uses a dog in it's advertising so I wouldn't be surprised if this results in a drop off in student numbers.

Here's an article about Aiful in today's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1778980,00.html

[wangtesol]

Thanks for that, soba.

Kyufukin, government subsidized tuition for private companies, is a clear example of how the private language school industry does not work on free market principles; it relies on corporate welfare (kyufukin) and scofflaw tactics such as not enrolling teachers in mandatory National Health Insurace (shakai hoken) and illegal outsourcing contracts (gyomu itaku).

[ironopolis]

Was it just me or did anyone else think the way they sang the name of the company in Aiful's adverts sounded uncannily like "I fool you"?!

[alexrocks]