EF Educational Tours

Placement organization

Name of organization: EF Educational Tours
Town/city: London
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: https://www.eftours.com/

Student

Name of student: Marthe Staring

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2017-2018

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Touroperator
Organization’s activities: Education First (EF) is a worldwide known company with offices in 116 countries. The different branches at EF are language schools, cultural exchange, academic study and Educational Tours. As ET we are trying to break down the barriers of language, culture and geography by providing international travel experiences to North-American students and teachers.
Target group of the organization: American and Canadian (highschool) students
Company culture: Within the Regional Office there is an informal atmosphere with a smart casual attire. Tour Directors walk in and out of the office and they are all really interested and friendly. There is not a noticeable hierarchy, they make you feel part of the team.
Number of employees: 4 in the office, but thousands worldwide
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

The Regional Office in London (there are more Regional Offices all over the world). We help the Tour Directors and provide them with information they need for their tours.

Brief description of your daily activities: Various operational tasks involving direct contact with the Tour Directors:
– set up and distribute tablet devices for Tour Directors;
– distribute of all tour materials and itineraries to Tour Directors
– answering questions from Tour Directors relating to their tours, either by phone or emial;
– assisting the (local) transport team;
– preparing for annual Tour Director reviews;
– monitoring Tour Director’s evaluations and handling their bonuses;
– handling off tour payment requests for Tour Directors;
– other small tasks that come along the way (especially the case in the low-season).
Brief description of your company assignment: Analyzing the current bonus system and come up with an improved system that will also satisfy the Tour Directors.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor Rachel is really nice and helpful. She gives you a lot of responsibility, but is always there when you have questions. The rest of the team is always very helpful and great to work with.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Teamplayer, sociable, stress-proof and be able to work on your own
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excel
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Internet/agency
How did you go to work every day? public transport

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No, not unless you feel insecure about your language skills.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 130
Accommodation (monthly): € 800
Local transport (monthly): € 140
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? EF will reimburse:
– One return ticket
– 8 GBP per day for lunch
– monthly travel expenses

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: marthestaring@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: I went to London a week before my internship started with a friend to look at places to live. I didn’t want to sign a contract without seeing the room myself. There are a lot of Facebook groups you can join to get in contact with new people.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are so many things you can do in London. The Regional Office is located in Oxford Street, so you are right in the centre of London. You can also explore other cities close to London such as Oxford, Cambridge, Bath and Brighton.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link