LAL moves into Canada, expands Irish partnership
Published 26/06/2018
LAL Language Centres has announced new partnerships with ALI and ELS language schools in Canada, and that it will be expanding its partnership with Apollo Language Centre in Ireland following a successful year to date.
LAL will now represent schools in Canada in its portfolio and to its network of agents, with its new Canadian partners providing the learning experience.
Based in Montreal, ALI is an international language school offering language immersion programs to more than 1,500 students per year, while ELS offers English language programs in Toronto and Vancouver.
“Ireland has managed to escape some of the worst of the geopolitical turmoil of recent years”
As part of LAL’s ambition to increase its offering of top language schools in favoured destinations, LAL’s New Business Development consultant Caetê da Silva told The PIE News that expanding into Canada was an obvious choice.
“Both of our partners in Canada have been selected because of their strong academic focus,” explained da Silva.
“They have junior programs which are extremely well run, and we envision a diverse increase in demand for ALI and ELS both in their summer schools as well as in their academic-oriented programs.”
Da Silva told The PIE that a vital aspect of the partnership model will be LAL’s global sales team, who will be leveraging connections to key markets in order to strengthen their presence.
“Our long-lasting and new agent partners will now be able to offer the quality of ELS and ALI products with the quality of agent-services that LAL is also known for,” he added.
ALI president Gregory Mattei said he expects the new partnership will benefit both companies by opening new markets and solidifying existing ones.
“Both companies will profit from the expertise and strengths of the other to create a larger network. In the end, the common goal is to create the best experience possible for our students,” said Mattei.
Director of Sales & Partner Support for Brazil at ELS Canada, Eddy Leite, added: “ELS is very glad to have LAL as a partner. We expect this partnership to enhance our presence in key markets.
“Both companies will profit from the expertise and strengths of the other to create a larger network”
“Part of LAL sales team spent some time with us in Canada last month and we are quite sure that we have a great team spirit going on, which will definitely be very helpful to both companies.”
LAL is also expanding on its 2016 partnership with Apollo in Ireland, following a year of impressive growth for the business.
In the year to date, Apollo’s numbers have risen to more than 3,600 students from around the globe (up from 2,000 in 2017 – when Apollo operated its adult school from May onwards only), added two new junior centres and launched a private transfer service.
“Ireland has become a major destination for the ELT sector,” Alex Perkins, CEO of LAL told The PIE.
“It is a country that has managed to escape some of the worst of the geopolitical turmoil of recent years and adopts a very welcoming policy towards students.”
He added that students also choose to study there as they can support their studies through work in Ireland and the cost of living and course prices are competitive.
Set up in 1980, the LAL group of schools is owned by the large German tour operator, FTI.
Da Silva said that being part of a major enterprise such as FTI gives LAL a stability and know-how that is valuable in a consolidating and fragmenting market.
“This stability enables us to make strategic decisions with longer-term perspectives. Our notable presence in the German market is a not insignificant spin-off,” he added.
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