‘EC operating 17 adult year-round schools in 16 cities around the world’ | Andrew Mangion

What is your primary role and what are your aims?

"As executive chairman, I am responsible for chairing the board of directors as well as driving all of our acquisitions and business development.

"Our purpose as an organisation is to help students succeed in an international community and that is a driving force behind much of what we do.

"EC has been growing at a fast rate over the last 10 to 15 years and our aim is to continue expanding as we move into new cities around the world."

What other awards has the school been nominated for in the past?

"EC has been nominated for star awards almost every year since these awards started and we have won three awards in the past. We have won the Star Innovation award twice and the Star Chain School award last year.

This year, EC acquired three Canadian schools and opened two schools in Miami and Los Angeles. Does the company intend to continue to expand throughout the upcoming year and how many does the school currently operate?

"EC has ambitious plans to continue and accelerate its growth of new centres in the next three years. EC currently operates 17 adult year-round schools in 16 cities around the world as well as 20 young learner programmes."

How has the company fought through the global economic turmoil?

"Notwithstanding the global economic turmoil, we have been able to grow our company's revenue by almost 150% since 2009. Not bad if you consider what has been going on worldwide since 2008.

"This growth has come through both organic as well as acquired growth and we have really strengthened our footprint in both the US as well as the UK while at the same time introducing a new destination, Canada.

"The company has invested heavily in its people, its software and its buildings offering clients a superior service and great value. We have also invested heavily in technology in the classroom and use interactive white boards in our classes."

What makes Malta such an attractive destination for learning English?

"Malta offers good value for students wanting to obtain a quality product while at the same time enjoying a holiday by the sea. While Malta's primary markets remain European, it has become quite established in a number of Asian countries and is starting to become better known in Latin America as well."

What makes you stand out from your competitors?

"Today EC is placed in the top five language school groups worldwide and we believe that our competitive advantage rests heavily on all of the following:

• Great people (staff) who have really engaged with the company and its purpose, values and mission.
• Superb school premises and facilities around the world
• A strong brand that consistently delivers value to our clients
• A strong and growing network of loyal agents around the world that promote our centres.
• An extremely spread and diverse nationality mix that makes up our student body."

Have you seen an increase in learning English as a foreign language?

"I have seen a large increase in total immersion English language learning over the last 15 years and while the growth level has reduced I am confident that there will continue to be growth over the next five to 10 years.

"While the European markets have probably plateaued, there is still lots of growth potential in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East."

Have you seen a rise in students coming to Malta to learn English as a foreign language? How does 2012 compare to the previous years?

"Malta went through large growth between 1990 and 2008, plateauing in 2008 and then experiencing a large decline in 2009 brought about by a number of factors, amongst which was the strength of the euro vs the pound and dollar.

"While Malta has been slowly climbing back up I do not believe that it has yet hit its 2008 levels. I think that 2012 will prove to be a positive year and will see growth over the previous year."

Do you offer in-house accommodation? What are your criteria on selecting accommodation for students?

"We offer a variety of accommodation to students including homestays in a family, residential accommodation and hotel stays as well.

"There are various criteria that we use in selecting accommodation and we have an operations blueprint that we use to ensure consistency of standards."

What changes have you seen over the years?

"On an international level, I have seen more consolidation, with international groups such as ours expanding into new markets and acquiring stand-alone schools as well as small groups.

"I have also seen an element of commoditisation of the product which has had both positive and negative effects on the industry.

"Positive since it is a better-known product where more and more consumers are happy to book online directly. Negative because with commoditisation comes pressure on margins.

"On a local level I have seen a huge growth in the sheer numbers of schools as well as an improvement in the quality standards that many schools are offering. I have also seen a much more collaborative approach amongst schools mainly brought about thanks to the industry association, FELTOM."

Which countries do the majority of your students come from?

"Student source markets would change somewhat depending on which countries one is looking at i.e. our student mix in the US might be slightly different to that in Malta or the UK for that matter.

"Certainly today, the big source markets for our industry worldwide, include countries such as Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, Switzerland,"

Do your schools cater for students willing to learn Business English?

"Yes they do."

What are the major hurdles your schools in Malta face?

"Schools around the world, and Malta is no exception are most affected by access to the country, in other words Visas, and the strength of the base currency in that country.

"Security issues (terrorism, pandemics and natural disasters) are also a very important factor that can affect student numbers and I would also not discount the negative impact that negative media can have on a market."

What do you like most about your job as chairman of a successful English language school chain?

"I love to see our people rising to the challenge of taking what was once a small local Maltese language school and turning it into a top international player. It is a big source of pride for many of our people to see a Maltese owned company playing at the top of its industry worldwide."

Finally, what would you say are the main benefits of learning English at one of EC's schools?

"It is so much more than learning English. It is learning about the culture of the country that you are studying in as well as learning about the cultures and traits of all the students that come to our schools from around the world.

"I feel that we are truly preparing the global citizens of tomorrow and equipping them with a common language to communicate in. Ultimately, that is our purpose which is helping students succeed in an international community."

Mangion at a glance

Andrew Mangion is Executive Chairman of the EC Group, an international English language school chain with operations in Malta, UK, USA, Canada and South Africa. He acquired equity in the fledgling local company in 1997 and grew the organization into one of the leading international players. Prior to joining EC he worked for an international trading company with offices in Russia, India, Dubai, the Baltics and Malta, running their Indian and later Baltic operations.

He graduated from Luther College (USA) in 1992 having double majored in Business Management and French. He is a director of Chiswick House School and St Martins College and served on the board of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations in Malta (FELTOM) both as a board member as well as serving two years as President. He is currently a member of the board of the Association of Language Travel Organisations (ALTO)

In 2005 he championed the startup of the first YPO Chapter in Malta and was Chapter Chair between 2005 and 2008. He also served as a member of the YPO European Board.

About LTM Star Awards:

Inaugurated in 2006, The LTM Star Awards were the first industry-specific awards to honour excellence in business performance in the study abroad industry. Acknowledging the important mutual links between organizations that offer students overseas for an international study experience, they represent a range of businesses and industry associations from around the world - all of whom are proud and honoured to have been singled out by their peers and colleagues whether as a nominee or a Star Awards winner.