The Unbiased Truth About Nova

[Ewok85]

Yeah, I'm glad I got out of English teaching too. I imagine if and when NOVA folds the market will be flooded with teachers.

But these people aren't "teachers" - working in an eikaiwa using fixed lessons based on textbooks with classes of 3 or less people, a vast majority of these people have not studied education or have any qualifications in education.

If anything it will flood the market with untrained and on the whole inexperienced (as the majority of NOVA people that I know are fresh graduates) foreigners - some of which will find work as ALT's, but those who are doing what I consider "serious" teaching (ie. direct hire) won't be bothered.

But then there is always the question of will the employers care? Would they rather someone who is educated, trained and experienced as a teacher of ESL, or someone who will work for less but doesn't have the same experience? Money is a factor too.

but I've read stuff in internet/rumor land

Not a rumour - a fact. To be able to work more than one year (if you are British, Canadian, Australian) you need to have completed a degree from a registered college or university. And its not NOVA's choice, its the governments order.

Why on earth would you be philosophically opposed to a degree? Its a tool that you can use to get the type of job in Japan that you want, if you can get one then go for it, otherwise your options are pretty limited.

I am not the greatest advocate of tertiary education either. For example I only went to University for one year, completed the most advanced Japanese course available.... then quit. There was nothing left for me. Meanwhile I was expected to study, and pay a fair amount too, so I would have enough "credit" to be able to study and pay for more subjects I have no interest in, etc. I also did a computer science course, found it to be total dribble, was denied being allowed to study 2nd year material, so refused to go to lectures and only turned up for the exam.

I know plenty of CS graduates, most of which don't have any real world experience at using a computer, and just have theory that in the real world is pretty much useless unless you want to go back and teach CS. They would be better off just making them read technical whitepapers than the stuff they already teach.

[Sukotto]

Not a rumour - a fact. To be able to work more than one year (if you are British, Canadian, Australian) you need to have completed a degree from a registered college or university. And its not NOVA's choice, its the governments order.

I meant a rumor that one might be able to get on at NOVA w/out the degree.

I've heard it was gov't law for any gov't run institution for 4yr college degree requirement.
But I did not know it was law for private run institutions. I just
thought it was their policy.

[Ewok85]

I meant a rumor that one might be able to get on at NOVA w/out the degree.
I've heard it was gov't law for any gov't run institution for 4yr college degree requirement.
But I did not know it was law for private run institutions. I just
thought it was their policy.

It hasn't got the slightest thing to do with the company - its all about immigration. No degree, no work visa. No work visa - no work.

[Elizabeth]

If anything it will flood the market with untrained and on the whole inexperienced (as the majority of NOVA people that I know are fresh graduates) foreigners - some of which will find work as ALT's, but those who are doing what I consider "serious" teaching (ie. direct hire) won't be bothered.

I imagine quite a lot of these NOVA folks -- particularly the younger, fresher inexperienced graduates at the bottom end -- will simply end up leaving Japan if their branch closes. Their only other competitive options may be to wait around for one of the other large eikaiwas to expand or work for bottom rock wages at a startup. And there will almost certainly be greater govt. regulation and oversight of anyone that comes up to fill the hole than there has been on the industry until this point.

Although I personally rather suspect the company isn't going anywhere in the short term, and that a much smaller, leaner, hopefully nicer , more student-oriented NOVA will still be around in some form come next January. Whether it will still be under the same management, recruiting out of its overseas offices, hiring at all for that matter, and how many of its some 500,000 students will be looking for another teacher are the real acid test questions we'll all be looking to guage and endlessly analyze over the next few weeks and months.