EC English Language Centres, the Malta-headquartered international education group, is to open its sixth US school in Los Angeles after expanding its Boston operation at the end of the year, executive chairman Andrew Mangion told The Sunday Times.
Currently in the throes of rapid US growth, EC announced in July it was to open a school in Miami in January. The latest announcements will see the wholly Maltese-owned group begin operations in both Miami and Los Angeles on January 3, just days after moving its Boston centre into larger premises in December.
By early 2012, EC will boast an international network of 12 schools in the UK, Malta, South Africa, and the US.
“Our shareholders are reinvesting very heavily in EC’s growth,” Mr Mangion explained. “Los Angeles is one of the last pieces of the jigsaw for EC in the US. Of course, there are other important destinations, but Los Angeles is one of the key locations – together with New York and Boston – where it was imperative we established centres. We first moved into the US in 2007 on the East Coast, and our next priority was the West Coast. Los Angeles was one of the first cities we looked at.”
At the time, Mr Mangion recalled, EC was hoping to acquire an existing operation in Los Angeles but the original search proved disappointing.
An acquisition which fits EC’s requirements was later identified in San Diego but the company kept its sights on Los Angeles.
A few weeks ago, a lease agreement was signed on commercial space on two floors at 401, Wilshire Boulevard, a prestigious thoroughfare in affluent Santa Monica.
Three blocks away from the Pacific Ocean, the school is ideally located in the much sought after destination by EC’s target young adult market.
EC Los Angeles, the group’s third school in California after San Diego and San Francisco, will incorporate 24 classrooms with a capacity for 336 students and feature a host of facilities including a lounge, library, and offices. It will be led by Mardy Arena, until now assistant centre director in San Diego.
Meanwhile, the lease agreement on new premises for the Boston school was finalised just two weeks ago. EC Boston will more than double its footprint to 19,500 square metres over four floors in a modern building in downtown Boston. It will sit above three floors occupied by urban fashion brand Abercrombie and Fitch.
“The new Boston centre was necessary to accommodate the tremendous growth that operation has achieved,” Mr Mangion continued.
“We continue to seek growth in north America. Our main focus right now continues to be the US. The country has always been a hugely aspirational destination for students, thanks to popular culture and Hollywood, among other things.”
Mr Mangion added the US business environment for the teaching of English as a foreign language had improved considerably under the Obama administration, which had eased visa restrictions posed by the Department of Homeland Security post-September 11. A weak dollar had also contributed to boosting EC’s US business.
Additionally, students were increasingly looking upon English language courses as a stepping stone into the US’s leading universities. In recent years, EC had developed an entire range of foundation and university access programmes to satisfy growing demand in this segment.
EC’s wider programme range continued to evolve to incorporate technology and online platforms. The company had licensed its own internet-based learning platform, featuring considerable content and study tools, to which students are given free access upon registration.
A pilot project at EC Brighton, where interactive whiteboards were installed in all classrooms, has proven highly successful, and the initiative will be extended across the EC network over the next 18 months at “considerable” investment.
Mr Mangion explained EC’s rapid growth was fired by globalisation and an intensified demand for communication ability in the world’s most commonly used language.
But the underlying factor, the executive chairman emphasised, was the commitment of EC’s team across the entire operation.
A meticulous recruitment strategy had ensured qualified and passionate people were brought on board. Their continued engagement and loyalty was secured through a consistent flow of new opportunities within the group.
The EC team’s commitment had successfully positioned the brand among the most highly recognisable with agents in the major source countries around the world, Mr Mangion said.
EC will continue to access the wider agent network as it added more locations to its international footprint in a bid to tap new markets. Mr Mangion said the company’s own ‘2020 Vision’ outlined a clear roadmap of EC’s future objectives, including some first steps at modest diversification.
He stressed the company would pursue what had proven to be a sound strategy of timely market access, product development, and talent retention.
Over the next three years, EC would examine the potential of establishing the brand in a new country and work to consolidate its presence in its current destinations.