Information for ex-NOVA teachers?

Question

Enquiries of Labor department for employment support; English speaker available
Tokyo
新宿外国人雇用支援・指導センター phone:[phone]
adress: 新宿区歌舞伎町２丁目４２−１０ ハローワーク新宿内
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?hl=ja&q=35.697874,139.700947&lr=&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&ll=35.698013,139.700947&spn=0.007824,0.018969&z=16&om=1

Osaka
大阪外国人雇用サービスセンター phone:[phone]
adress: 大阪市北区梅田１丁目２−２ 大阪駅前第２ビル
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=q&hl=ja&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=34.698913,135.498204&ie=UTF8&ll=34.699866,135.498526&spn=0.007921,0.018969&z=16&om=1


Notice to Australians Employed by NOVA (Australian consular office in Japan)
http://www.consular.australia.or.jp/nova_information.html

Nova Enquiries (British Embassy in Japan)
http://www.uknow.or.jp/be_e/embassy_news/E000644.htm

General Union
http://www.generalunion.org/
http://www.generalunion.org/contact.php
http://www.generalunion.org/news/?id=166&lang=jp
http://nambufwc.org/current-disputes/nova-corporation/

--
Please add if you have any.

Thanks guys. The number of the teachers is said more than 4,000. Please pass these info if you know any NOVA employees.

Thank you. I'll place this info in my profile for a while.

Answer 1

NOVA has filed an application for Corporation Reorganization Law in Japan and accepted by a court.

If this law is applied, lawyers called "interim trustee" are appointed and they are in charge of everything in the company after application of the law.

For NOVA, 2 interim trustees have already been appointed according to PDF file in he below page.

http://www.nova.ne.jp/

The 2 lawyers have announced that they are looking for a company who could acquire NOVA and keep its operation going within 1 month. The situation depends on whether they can find a good company.

Anyway, it's up to them to manage all liability NOVA is owing.

http://news.www.infoseek.co.jp/society/story/20071026jiji5652088/

Addition:
If a sponsor which can acquire NOVA is found, NOVA could continue its operation and the sponsor can pay to teachers.

If it's not found, NOVA must go real bankrupt. The 2 interim trustees say the time limit is 1 month. All the teachers can do is to wait 1 month.

Answer 2

Advice for Nova teachers returning to Australia
As someone who has worked in the management of English (ELICOS) colleges in Australia for several years, I hope that I can offer some useful tips to those teachers affected by the collapse of Nova. Please read on if you feel this may be of some help to you. Anyway, it’s free advice – take it or leave it.
Summary:
1.Decide whether teaching English as a Second Language is the career for you…
↓
Yes?
↓
2.Know the industry in Australia
↓
Still interested?
↓
3.Send your resume to a school

1. Decide whether ESL is the career for you.
English as a Second Language is an exciting career, but few make it from casual to permanent employment, and even fewer make it into senior academic positions. I suggest teachers make sure they are serious about it before stepping into a teaching role here in Australia.
It must be said that teaching at Nova and teaching in an ELICOS college in Australia are two very different things, but from your experience, you should have some idea of whether teaching (and perhaps academic management) is for you.
(Are you serious about teaching ESL? Yes: go to 2, No: either give up straight away or read on and perhaps take a short-term casual teaching job while you consider another career)
2.Know the situation in the ESL industry in Australia
Recently, the industry has been experiencing a labour shortage on the academic side, so there should be little shortage of work for teachers who really want it. This, however, may change soon with the potential flood of teachers returning to Australia from positions in Nova. This would be good for school managers; Not so for teachers looking for work. HOWEVER…
It should be noted that not everyone can teach in CRICOS-registered colleges in Australia. Most colleges in Australia are accredited by a body called NEAS (National ELICOS Accreditation Scheme), based in Sydney. Accreditation requirements stipulate that colleges must employ suitably qualified and experienced teachers. You can check your qualifications by visiting their website at www.neasaustralia.com . In short, you need either ;
a.)a Bachelor of Arts (any discipline) PLUS a TESOL qualification (such as RSA-CELTA, Trinity or additional TESOL subjects on your BA) PLUS 800 hours of classroom teaching experience. Or…
b.)a Bachelor of Education PLUS a TESOL qualification
If you are really serious about teaching English and do not have a TESOL qualification, courses like the RSA-CELTA are run at a number of locations around the country. It costs a few thousand to do the course, but can be completed in as little as four weeks. (Personally, my CELTA quickly paid itself off after I took it several years ago, so I believe it to be a worthwhile investment). N.B. Check with NEAS whether the course you are interested in is recognised.
If you have all your quals, but do not yet have the full 800 hours of teaching experience, there are two loopholes (for want of a better word). Firstly, not all colleges are NEAS-accredited, and not all courses within NEAS-accredited colleges are accredited, so you may be able to build up your experience teaching non-accredited courses. Secondly, accredited schools are allowed to employ up to 20% of their teachers without the full qualifications – if they have good reason to believe the teacher is especially outstanding, due to, for instance, excellent results on a TESOL course or a ripper-bloody-good reference from your supervisor at Nova.
(Still interested? Go to 3. )
3.Don’t delay – start sending your resume to schools
All major cities (and even some towns) in Australia have some form of ELICOS industry. Many college managers are screaming out for resumes at the moment, but beware: The industry is notoriously seasonal. The reason for this is the fact that student numbers wax and wane so much with the seasons. Summer in the Northern hemisphere, for instance, is an amazingly busy season, due to the number of students wanting to travel to Australia during this period, so teachers can have more work than they know what to do with, …until August when half of them find themselves partially or completely without work. This accounts for the large number of casual staff employed in the industry. Schools simply cannot afford to employ all of their teachers all of the time. However, it is not all doom and gloom. Good teachers often remain employed by schools even when the student numbers have gone back down.
Once again, if you are serious about working in this industry, get your qualifications and aim to be the best ELICOS teacher in the world. Be a grammar geek. Love language. Be strict about English-only in the classroom. Teach an exam course like IELTS, Cambridge, TOEFL or TOEIC. Bring to the classroom your knowledge from previous jobs. Be energetic. Run learner-centred classes. You will be laying the groundwork for a successful career in what is really an exciting and growing industry.

Answer 3

Here's what the Canadian embassy Tokyo sent out to all registered Canadians in Japan:

The Canadian Embassy has opted to send this message to all registrants
on the Japan country profile, to ensure that we can reach as many
Canadians affected by this situation as possible.

If you know of any Canadians in your area of Japan who are not already
registered in ROCA, please be sure to share the following information
with them, and also take the opportunity to recommend registration.
************ ********* ********* ********* ******
As you may have already heard in the news today (October 26), NOVA
English school has filed for bankruptcy. In this message, the Embassy
endeavours to communicate as much information as possible to assist
you in planning your next steps.

The Canadian Embassy is monitoring the situation and remains ready to
receive enquiries and provide the best advice we can.

Employees with concerns should consider contacting one of the two
regional Nova offices which have been tasked with responding to
employee queries, the workers' union representing Nova employees, and
their local labour advisory office. Contact details are:
Nova
- West Japan: Osaka Office [phone]
- East Japan: Tokyo Office [phone]
Nova has advised that it is in the process of putting related
information for employees including questions and answers up on its
website at www.nova.ne. jp.

General Union - Nova Branch: [phone]
http://www.generalu nion.org/ nova/main. htm

The assistance that the Embassy of Canada is able to provide you is
limited to that which is stipulated in the Consular Service Standards
page, http://www.voyage. gc.ca/main/ about/service_ standards- en.asp.

The Embassy is neither legal expert nor labour law specialist; we do
not possess the expertise to be able to advise you on these topics
thus we have been, and continue in, encouraging individuals to seek
out subject-expert advice from local providers. The following is a
list of contacts for services and official Japanese advisory
organisations that may be of assistance. Many are Tokyo-based but
they should be able to direct you to resources in your vicinity:

If you did wish to look into the option of hiring a private lawyer,
the Embassy can provide a list of lawyers, some with English speaking
services.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Consultation Service for Foreigners:
03-5320-7744.
They offer advice in English on a range of issues. Their opening
times are: Monday to Friday, 9:30am - 12:00 noon and 1:30pm - 5pm.

For employment and labour-specific advice, the following telephone
number is for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Labour Advisory
Service Centre for Foreigners: 03-5211-2346. They offer advice in
English from 2:00pm to 4:00pm Monday to Friday.

Also, many City Offices across Japan have foreign residents'
consultation services. You may wish to check with your local City
Office to see what services they have available.

If you have any employment/work visa questions (i.e. sponsored visas,
changing employment), the best people to consult would be the Tokyo
Regional Immigration Bureau:
http://www.moj. go.jp/ENGLISH/ information/ iic-01.html

In the event of unemployment, we understand that some foreign
employees in Japan may be eligible for unemployment benefits. We
understand that it depends on what type of employment insurance the
employee holds, as well as how long they have been working, and under
what circumstances they ceased their employment. If you should wish
to make enquiries as to whether you are eligible for unemployment
benefits, you should consult with your local Hello Work Office. The
following website advises of some Hello Work Offices that are able to
offer foreign language assistance:
http://www.tfemploy .go.jp/en/ coun/cont_ 2.html

Financial Issues:

We understand that many of you have major concerns about this. The
Embassy is available to assist you to contact your family or friends
in Canada and facilitate private funds transfers between you and them
should the need arise; however, we cannot provide financial funding
for Canadians to remain overseas.

Money transfer methods include wire deposits into a personal Japanese
bank account (or a Canadian bank account accessible from Japan e.g. by
ATM card), credit card account, or instant transfers via Western Union
(www.westernunion. com) - Please note that the Japanese agent of which
is Suruga Bank with branches located in the Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka
and Aichi areas. Alternatively, your family member can contact the
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in Ottawa to obtain
information on how to transfer funds through the department.
http://www.voyage. gc.ca/main/ sos/emergencies- en.asp

If you are seeking alternative work in order to stay in Japan, you may
wish to discuss your situation with your family and friends to ensure
you have arrangements in place should the necessity for emergency
funds arise. Also, please ensure to contact your nearest Immigration
Bureau Office to obtain more information about changing jobs.

If you are planning to go home to Canada anytime between now and the
holiday season, we strongly encourage you to start making travel
arrangements immediately. Mid-December marks the beginning of the
holiday/Christmas high season; consequently, airfares will rise
significantly, and ticket availability will become scarce.