Gaba
Gaba is another eikaiwa, which has tried to distinguish itself from the rest by offering only one-on-one (or, as they say, ‘man-to-man’) lessons and by integrating computer technology to the lessons. There is apparently a webpage for every lesson taught and students can access material and progress reports online.
Unfortunately, Gaba have also distinguished themselves amongst English teachers as perhaps the lowest-paying school out there. Teachers are paid ¥1400 per lesson, which is less than half of what some schools pay. There is also no bonuses such as holiday leave or payment of transportation, because each teacher is employed as a contractor. Things like transportation and clothing (you are required to wear a suit, and highly recommended to buy the GABA approved version) are tax-deductible, but that doesn’t help the average English teacher in Japan who has little Japanese language or bureaucratic knowledge.
Another thing about Gaba is that they will not sponsor any visas, at least not until after you have already completed a four month contract with them, and they decide they want to keep you. They only hire from within Japan.
Gaba, while apparently awful, does seem to do things by the books. I can’t find any examples of where Gaba do things illegally (like may eikaiwa have done in the sub-clauses of their contracts). I might be wrong on this count so please comment and correct me if you know something I don’t. It’s because you are a contractor, and not an employee, so Gaba have a lot of leeway.
You will miss out on a lot of employment benefits while working at Gaba, and the pay is very low. But it is a well recognised company in Japan, and perhaps working one-on-one and with the aid of computers will suit your style.
Link:
Gaba
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November 6th, 2006 at 3:30 am
I must say I had hands-on experience as a teacher at GABA, and I all I can say is that you are 100% correct. Gaba pays shit for the amount of “brain storming” one must do during that brief 40 minutes of 英会語 [english conversation].
Japan is a very fertile land for partime jobs. If you really wanna earn lot of money doing part time, there are so any other places, just look around. But Gaba and nova is not one of them.
trust me !
November 9th, 2006 at 10:51 am
As a current and soon to be leaving Gaba instructor I can only concur with the first comment. For people venturing into the field..don`t waste your time. Aside of the low wage, zero transport fee and zero help on anything…you are classified as a `Gaba partner`. Not a REAL employee. You do an itaku contract so they can abuse your rights without you being a REAL employee. But you still need to act like it. One more thing; they will tell many good things about bonuses and incentives. Most of these are well out of reach. Forget about it.
yknife
March 17th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
i worked monday to friday from 8:30 to 7. I got paid 350,000 p/m at gaba. it was easy money.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:56 am
im about to recieve a position at gaba as an instructor and these comments are hardly what i was looking for… i was attracted to gaba because they are one of the few places that will hire your without a degree and its 1 on 1, are there any others that fit the bill here, maybe im taking the wrong path…
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:48 am
What position did you take to get paid 350,000?
April 11th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
It’s not true that they only hire from within Japan. They’ve been hounding me since about november when I first thought to express initial interest in them, and now won’t get the point. I think I need to just give the a straight out but polite answer that I cannot agree to a contract which doesn’t provide housing and transportation assistance.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Gaba was a good experience for me. The pay is not good, I have to agree. But if you factor in commuting costs and the time one needs in order to find your own students, the pay is actually reasonable. It’s brainless work and it only takes 5 minutes to plan a lesson. I worked in the Nagoya Sakae branch and the people were really friendly there, but I’ve heard that the Tokyo branches are a lot more competitive. The staff at my branch were really good and supportive and the students were wonderful. By the way, it’s 1400 yen per lesson, which is 40 minutes.
April 30th, 2008 at 11:57 am
As a previous employee I can halfheartedly agree. While making a lot of money is definitley a MUST in Tokyo I actually enjoyed my time working at GABA and managed to get along with almost all the staff there.
Your rights are limited as mentioned above however if you do a good enough job then you will be offered better positions and yes dare I say, sponsorship to stay in Japan longer (Yes it is possible! If you talk to and get along with the right people).
In response to the poor pay in contrast to prep debate. Come on, the textbooks are very easy to work through and it takes less than a month to memorise most of the material of the general textbooks. While GABA would like you to play by the book you’re still not restricted toadd your only personality to the lessons to make them enjoyable.
Well, as you can see I liked GABA. The pay is crap, I didnt get any compensation for transport and it was a nightmare to figure out how to get my tax return (even with a fairly fluent level of spoken Japanese). But I could chose my own work hours and was always offered options to climb the corporate ladder. If I didnt wanna work a month I didnt have to. There’s freedom in that which I’ve never had in any other job.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:03 am
YOU SAID – I can’t find any examples of where Gaba do things illegally (like may eikaiwa have done in the sub-clauses of their contracts). I might be wrong on this count so please comment and correct me if you know something I don’t. It’s because you are a contractor, and not an employee, so Gaba have a lot of leeway.
This is totally illegally and this is why GABA has made financial settlements to teachers who threatened to get a union involved.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:38 am
Going to start this week, so am hoping to make some cash and have a laugh…….
350,000 a month, that sounds like bollocks to me…..
September 18th, 2008 at 12:02 am
GABA is the same as other eikaiwa schools, I worked at GABA for 3 years. It was not very fun, but more professional than other eikaiwa schools. Also, You can pick your own schedule, so if you get sick of working a lot, you can cut back your hours or take a few days off. Try doing that at other eikawas. For a year or so, it ain’t that bad, especially if you want a flexible schedule, i.e. young and no family.