English Australia, a peak body for English language providers, is looking to ramp up engagement with education agents worldwide after a survey revealed that 37% of respondents were unaware of the organisation.
Launched at the end of last year, the agent survey was distributed to agents through a number of channels including industry media partners, direct mail and social media. A total of 703 agents from 72 countries completed it by the time it closed in January.
64% of agents were ”positively influenced” by English Australia membership
Sue Blundell, Executive Director of English Australia said: “The findings were not surprising, but did give us some things to think about. Whilst we were pleased to see that 63% of responding agents said they had heard of us, there is obviously significant opportunity for us to improve our profile.”
She continued, “Only 48% were familiar with our logo, but given this is relatively new, we were pleased. However when agents were asked more detailed questions about what services English Australia provides, the results were somewhat surprising (only 20% knew of our services).”
The survey did, however, find that those who recognised English Australia thought of it well, with 64% “positively influenced by English Australia membership when choosing a college for their students in Australia”.
Blundell said English Australia would look at ways to improve its communications with agents and their understanding of English Australia. She added she wanted to get the most out of the body’s new brand and website, which has a dedicated section providing resources for agents.
“We want to make sure that agents know who we are and how they can access these resources,” she said.
