International Language Academy of Canada

What is the best part of working at the company?
Really great atmosphere and company culture, lots of engagement from upper management. I was impressed by the involvement of the company president in regular communication and contact with teachers here. The only drawback is that, with the changes in Canadian government regulations for what college programs qualify international students for work visas, my program is shutting down soon and I'll have to move on. The company has sunk a lot of investments into their collaboration with Georgian College, and has to make major cuts to make up for the shutdown of those programs. Don't be surprised if they aren't hiring for substantial positions for a long time. I expect to move on when my contract comes up for annual review at the end of August because my pay will likely substantially decrease (I'm already going down by 20% for the summer 2024 semester). 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Honestly, it was quite a relaxed place to be. Lots of support from peers and team leads, especially compared to other private colleges where I've worked. The mercenary attitude that I experienced among ILAC's competition was nowhere to be found there. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Generally welcoming and open culture. We didn't always take advantage of collaborative opportunities, but they were always there. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Quite straightforward. Teaching is typically kind of hybrid between on-campus teaching and home office work, so they put a lot of effort into online accessibility.

I enjoyed my time there because my coworkers and students were wonderful.  Management, not so much

Co-workers lift each other up and support each other

Students are great and wonderful to be around

Only paid for instruction hours.  Any work on class prep is unpaid.  Hours-wise, it's a part time job.

No benefits because it's under the hours for full time.

If you're on the management's bad side (even if it's because they just hate you) then expect to be a substitute for most of your time rather than having your own classroom.

Management also plays favorites.  No room for improvement.  If you're on their list you're done.
Received disciplinary action due to being 3 mins late as a result of a public transportation issue--which was adequately communicated.  

Few weeks later, one of manager's favorites "slept in and snoozed the alarm too much" (their own words) and missed half of the day with students all sitting there wondering where the teacher was after 20 minutes.  Manager just laughed it off and asked them if they had a wild night last night.


It's not like ILAC is any different than other for-profit language school. The teachers get squeezed below from the students, who have unrealistically high expectations of their teachers while neglecting to work hard themselves, and above by the management, who will fire you the second the students evaluate you below a 9 out of 10. No prep time, no health insurance. To add to this, there are some weird politics between the day school and night school that led to one teacher being tricked into a contract with the day school when they'd been recruited by the night school, and a very effective manager (that's why there are any stars in that section) was fired and blacklisted the moment they had a health scare, depriving them of a source of income. Blatantly illegal, but this is a monster corporation with lawyers employed expressly to fatigue any teacher who would want to pursue a case. Go abroad, and stay far away from this school.

I worked full time at this college in the past. The marketing department took precedence over the pedagogical and language development goals of the teachers and students. My classes were constantly interrupted to promote some outing or different offer for new classes, and administrative staff made it clear that the teachers were at the lowest end of the pecking order. Management (at that time) only surfaced when they felt there was a problem and the teacher needed to be "corrected". Monetary compensation was relatively low. Perhaps worst of all, there was zero job security, as many teachers were terminated without cause (even outside of pandemic-related factors).  It's not a great place to develop one's self-esteem, professionally or otherwise.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The material is prepped for you and the students are wonderful, for the most part.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The managers are constantly shifting, and the classes are given to the newest manager's pet. It's not stable. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Professional development is encouraged. There is upward mobility for pets, but people tend to leave after being promoted. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Prep for class, teach class, make good use of your in-class time, and sign off. Students may try to claw at your time for special treatment at the end of class, so it's important to hold boundaries.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The company value diversity and lives it every day.  Great Canadian company.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
 Covid  had a negative impact on travel and enrolment in Canada.  New government restrictions on foreign student visas is not helpful.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
One of the best cultures I worked at in my career.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Fast paced, fun and learnign a lot about different cultures.

Quite busy admin/customer service role, often impossible to balance the two. Alright place to learn office duties and general computer work. Management was great at first but plenty of changes came and suddenly, most of management became unreliable, with the rest of the employees caring 80% more about the job than actual management did. Little recognition for all the work accomplished. Workplace culture was friendly, but often double-faced/gossipy. 
At the end of the day, salary was quite low and not worth all the job duties.

I.L.A.C provides one with an endless network of languages and cultures. Students come from countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Japan, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia. The day-to-day communication with them is always pleasant and there are opportunities to find new friends and business ventures such as tutoring.

you're just there to keep students busy - management is a joke - don't expect any support - students have ultimate power as their complaints take much more weight than you're qualifications, so called preformance reviews or hundreds of other satisfied students.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Online classes, autonomy, schedule

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Payments are low even for teaching academic english 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Good environment friendly staff

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Teaching preparation exams thats all

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