English language school staff told most jobs going when subsidy ends

AUCKLAND: About 500 staff in 19 English language schools have been told most of their jobs will end when the extended Covid19 wage subsidy finishes in the next few weeks.

The eightweek wage subsidy extension, which still supported 372,021 New Zealanders or oneseventh of the workforce on July 3, will end from August 5 for those who applied for the extension when it became available on June 10.

The English language schools are an extreme case because they depend totally on international visitors, who have not been able to enter New Zealand since the borders closed in March.

Some language schools are closing completely.

New Zealand’s oldest English school, Dominion English School in Auckland, which was founded in 1969, has told staff its likely closure date will be August 14.

‘‘At the moment we are looking like Armageddon really for English language schools,’’ principal Andrew Fisher said.

Pauline Copland, who started the ABC College of English in Queenstown 26 years ago, is leaving town to look for work in another region.

‘‘I need to find a job,’’ she said. Her students have shrunk from 45 before the lockdown to six, and when they finish in September she plans to apply to the NZ Qualifications Authority for Covid19 ‘‘hibernation’’ — a process that will keep her school registered for up to 18 months while it has no students.

But Chris Leckie, who started the Rotorua English Language Academy 27 years ago, said she was determined to hang on despite student numbers plunging from about 120 at this time last year to 14. ‘‘We are fighters here,’’ she said. She plans to ‘‘ration’’ the dwindling teaching hours available, but expects some teachers may have to go on to welfare benefits until students return.

Ewen MackenzieBowie, who chairs ICL Education which owns the Auckland English Academy and Bridge International College, said his schools had more longterm students preparing for further study in New Zealand.

Student numbers had halved since February but were still more than 250, and he expected to pick up students when other schools closed.

‘‘So we are likely to be one of the last men standing,’’ he said.

Languages International chief executive Darren Conway gave notice to his 16 staff last Friday, but hopes to rehire four or five of them on fixedterm contracts to teach the remaining 60 or so students.

He said the sector group English NZ had asked Education Minister Chris Hipkins for $5 million to keep the schools afloat, and was lobbying to bring students back on the basis they would pay for their own twoweek quarantine.

Mr Hipkins said he hoped to meet the group soon.

‘‘I am sympathetic to the impact the unexpected loss of revenue will have had on English language schools,’’ he said.

‘‘We are actively considering options to buffer the sharp decline in income,’’ he said.

Both Business NZ and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) have accepted the Government cannot extend the wage subsidy any further for jobs that are disappearing.

Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope said: ‘‘The Government’s best response to the crisis would be to accelerate planned infrastructure projects to ensure they get under way as soon as possible.’’

CTU economist Andrea Black said the Government should boost policies to match workers with jobs in growing areas such as horticulture, expand public service jobs such as teacher aides and extend paid parental leave. — The New Zealand Herald

❛ At the moment we are looking like Armageddon really for English language schools