Five euros per hour is nonsense, companies pay thousands for language training

Although the importance of training is constantly being discussed, in practice, many companies are still cutting their training budgets in times of uncertainty. “When new business is declining, our decisions are often driven by a decrease in money, not an increase in time. Finances fluctuate, but time passes at the same rate, so when we suddenly have more of it, we use it for people development and innovation. For example, improving language skills or working with AI tools are skills that cannot simply be bought – they need to be built up in advance. Learning and trying new things takes time and energy,” says Klaudia Bednárová, director of the Bridge English Language Centre and winner of the TREND Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 award.

However, many companies invest hundreds of euros a month in language training, and larger companies invest thousands of euros. They know that thanks to foreign languages, their employees will not only gain the ability to communicate with foreign clients or suppliers, but also access to information that they can use to the benefit of the company.

The interview about the current situation in the language education market was published in the weekly magazine TREND, and you can read the unabridged version on our blog.

The price of education should be determined by the costs and the value

How many hundreds or thousands of euros do companies spend on language training each month?

If we quickly calculate the turnover of ten Bratislava language schools and agencies that Google suggests, we get a figure of approximately €10 million invested in language training each year. And that’s not counting dozens of smaller schools and independent teachers – so the total amount could easily exceed 15 million euros in Bratislava alone.

It is difficult to generalize the amount of investment per company, but to give you a better idea: if a company has around 100 employees in training, the monthly costs can be €2,000, but also €8,000, depending on the format and intensity of the training. Interestingly, the amount of investment is determined much less by the hourly rate, which is usually the subject of negotiations, and much more by, for example, the division of students into groups, the frequency of teaching, or the quality requirements for teachers. However, companies only address these factors after selecting a language school based on the hourly rate.

When comparing the price of IT courses or soft skills, languages often come out as the cheapest. Why is this the case?

That’s a very good question. It seems that in language education, we have a surprisingly high tolerance for incompetent teachers. Even today, as in the 1990s, it is common for languages to be taught by students or foreigners – often without qualifications and without the necessary teaching skills.

This is not just my subjective impression, as confirmed by job offers on profesia.sk, where rates for language teaching start at €5 per hour. You would hardly find such figures in IT or soft skills training.

For comparison: no student or anyone who has “ever seen a flipchart” would attend presentation skills training before a board meeting, but in language education, it still happens that an unqualified teacher shows up. Even clients with great responsibility and limited time often get a teacher who is pleasant and speaks fluently but does not really know how to teach.

Does the fact that learning a language takes longer also play a role, so it cannot be priced as high as a soft skills weekend course?

From my point of view, the price of education should be determined primarily by the costs and the value we bring. No quality school is cheap – not because it has an excessive margin, but because building a strong team of teachers requires years of investment and is a never-ending process.

A good school is a living ecosystem that needs constant care and investment in people – in their development, education, and support. Because the following applies: what I don’t have as a teacher, I can’t pass on to my students.

As Mr. Vlado Burian once aptly said, “There is no easier job than being a bad teacher, and there is no harder job than being a good teacher.” And I would just add that no matter how little I invest in poor-quality education, I still invest a lot.

Education is a priority also in the times of crisis

Are companies just learning the language, or do they already see English as a tool and want courses in English where the goal is to learn something else? What do they learn this way, for example? What is the demand on the market?

The demand for courses in English is growing, and I think it’s a market with great potential. For example, we offer internationally accredited coaching training in English, attended by experienced coaches and professionals working in an international environment. I expect that there will be more similar courses in Slovakia soon.

Many companies talk about how important education is, but whenever a crisis hits, education budgets are the first to be cut. Why is that?

I think companies cut education during a crisis because they see it as a long-term expense, its benefits are difficult to measure, there is often a lack of strategic vision, and it also depends on the corporate culture and management. Paradoxically, however, it is precisely in times of crisis that it plays a key role in adaptation and innovation.

Yes, in my experience, although companies declare the importance of education, in times of crisis it is too often one of the first areas where the budget is cut. From my point of view, there are several reasons for this. A short-term view of costs, a more difficult to measure benefit, underestimation of strategic importance, and, last but not least, culture and leadership.

Where management truly believes in the power of development and long-term team building, education remains a priority even during a crisis. Where such a vision is lacking, it is the first to go.

Are you also experiencing a reduction in client numbers? How long has this been going on? By approximately how much have sales fallen year-on-year?

Although we are very sensitive to the unease and uncertainty caused by the current economic and political situation at home and abroad in our conversations with clients, we have not yet felt a decline in sales in corporate training. This is mainly because our clients are companies that realize that language skills are a strategic necessity, not just a perk for employees.

How do you reflect the decline in sales in your budget? Where are you saving money, what are you cutting back on in your company?

We are a school – education is our mission and our daily reality. Although there is much talk about its importance, as a segment we remain chronically underfunded. Where there is no room for waste, there is no room for savings.

Teacher development is a basic prerequisite for quality teaching

How much do you spend annually on teacher training? Is this amount increasing? How is their growth set?

We reinvest approximately 10% of our turnover into the development and training of our teaching team. Although we have a long-term stable team, training costs are naturally increasing. Low turnover allows us to focus not only on teaching methodology but also on the development of advanced skills.

Our teachers are trained in coaching skills, for example, which help them work more effectively with students – not only in setting goals, but especially in achieving them. Many of our students are busy, so the ability of the teacher to hold their attention, develop their motivation, and build discipline is key to achieving real results.

What type of education did they start with and what type of courses are they gradually moving towards? What skills do they acquire? Do you have a universal direction that you require from everyone?

The basis of our work is a high-quality methodology for teaching English, but equally important is the ability of teachers to perceive and respond sensitively to the individual needs of our students. Therefore, teacher development at our company is based on a combination of courses, mentoring, and self-reflection.

Since our team consists of almost 50 teachers, systematic training requires group training and teamwork in smaller groups. We currently have group training focused on English methodology, coaching skills, the CLIL method, and mentor training. Group training is not just about acquiring new skills from trainers – it is also a process of getting to know each other, building trust and professional respect. This then creates space for sharing experiences and learning from each other.

Is everyone entitled to education, or how do you set up your “reward” system? You probably don’t call it a reward. Is it a matter of course?

It’s not about entitlement to education, but about the responsibility to constantly learn, develop your skills, and deepen your knowledge. As a teacher, I can only pass on what I myself have. Someone wise once said that only those who never stop learning should teach – and I completely agree with that. Teacher development is not a perk, it is a basic prerequisite for quality teaching.

Bratislava is not at the end of the civilized world, but foreigners are not aware of it

Are there enough good language teachers in Slovakia?  

There are never enough of them and in Slovakia, there are significantly fewer of them than we need. The long-term neglect of education is already reflected not only in the quality and availability of teachers, but will also have increasingly serious impacts on the state of society, our competitiveness, economic growth, and quality of life, for example through healthcare. Education is the foundation of everything – and if we do not systematically strengthen it, we will feel the consequences across the entire country.

Do teachers understand that being a teacher means lifelong learning?

Good teachers understand this and see their profession as a continuous process of learning and growth. At the same time, however, it must be acknowledged that not everyone has the conditions or motivation to do so. If we want teachers to truly engage in lifelong learning, we need to give them time, support, and recognition that their development is key to the quality of education as such.

Do you have any foreign programs and activities to train and attract them from abroad? What are they?

As a company, we can offer a motivational bonus, provide accommodation, and a quality development program. However, we cannot create a parallel world without corruption, bureaucracy, inflation, or aggression in the public sphere. If Slovaks themselves are increasingly considering leaving the country, it is unlikely that foreigners will flock here in large numbers.

What prejudice against Slovakia do you encounter among them? Why are they reluctant to come? Do they follow politics?

I think that the very first and fundamental obstacle is the very low awareness of the existence of Bratislava and Slovakia as such. Most people know exactly where Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and even Brno are located, but Bratislava is more of an exception. It is not a destination that people actively look at when searching for work abroad.

Compared to Prague, where foreigners want to live and therefore look for work, we have a big disadvantage right from the start. As a school, we have to make a considerable effort to attract potential teachers, and only then – often during the interview – do they discover that we are only 60 km from Vienna and, thanks to the proximity of Schwechat Airport, we are not “at the end of the civilized world.”

Interview for TREND: Peter Scherhaufer / Blog edit: Kamila Jančíková

Pictures credits: Patrik Gubiš, Kamila Jančíková, Anna Zozulia