Lado Business English
4F-3, No. 51, Sec 2,
Keelung Rd. Taipei
TEL: (02) 2377-6737
FAX: (02) 2377-6750
andy_ings@lado.com.tw
Lado is clearly the market leader in terms of teacher quality. It is managed by Andy Ings who is the only foreigner operating a major corporate English provider. The office is impressive, located in a building whose other offices are occupied by high-tech distributors. His teachers have been the personal instructors for some of the most powerful and influential industrial, entertainment, and political figures in Taiwan.
Compensation at Lado is significantly above market average. All teachers are paid $nt800 / hr. plus travel expenses. Lado follows the rather unusual policy of paying every teacher the same regardless of how long they have worked for the company or how good they are at teaching. Recent attempts to restructure company pricing have failed to stabilize teacher's schedules, which up until now has been the most serious complaint . As a result, earnings remain unpredictable. One month, a top teacher may be making as much as $nt90,000. On a poor month, however, this might dip into the 20's. Average earnings across the year are probably comparable with other corporate English providers.
All teachers at Lado are full-time and legally sponsored. Lado has no illegal or part-time teachers.
Recent advertizements state that Lado provides "in-house training". This is not accurate. While professional development at Lado is superior to its competitors, the training provided is minimal and is more accurately termed 'orientation toward administrative responsibilities'. Nevertheless, many of its teachers are extremely experienced instructors and are more than happy to share their ideas and cooperate with others.
In addition to teaching, Lado has several supervisory positions. Project managers maintain customer relations and assure that quality in company accounts remains high. While this work provides more stability than teaching, it does not really have long-term potential. The current project managers have all held their positions since long before 2000. They also all have other jobs that provide the bulk of their income. While Lado has tried to hire others for these positions, none are left working as project managers.
Lado has had difficulty keeping its most highly qualified teachers. For example, four teachers at Ming Chuan University in Taipei once worked at Lado,others now work at the China External Trade Association (CETRA), and several more have formed independent companies competing for corporate customers. In part, this is because evening work and unstable hours continue to offer insufficient compensation.
Lado offers a high hourly rate, superior clients, and a very pleasant working environment. It is clearly a better choice than it competitors. Nevertheless, its potential as a long-term employer is still limited.
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