Jonathan Kolber co-founded ILAC – which went bust late last week, leaving over 1,300 students pondering their next steps – back in 1997, although he officially left the group last year. He had stepped away from his role as CEO in 2024, having been named chairman of the group a year previously.
ILAC announced that it would be stopping all of its programs with immediate effect in a shock move on Friday night, citing financial pressures caused by “significant regulatory changes”. With schools in Toronto and Vancouver, it was considered the biggest player in Canada’s ELT space.
Kolber announced the “birth of a beautiful new school” in Toronto on Saturday in the immediate wake of ILAC’s bankruptcy announcement. However, there is no suggestion that the two situations are linked.
Coincidentally, Kolber’s post on LinkedIn, which attracted lots of comments, reveals that Dream English School will be located at the same Toronto property that until recently housed an ILAC school.
Responding to comments on the timing of the annoucement, he posited that the opening offered “an opportunity for those who want to work”. He further stressed that he no longer worked for ILAC and that “things were excellent” during his tenure.
Kolber’s new venture is opening amid a turbulent time for the Canadian ELT sector, with a recent Languages Canada report warning that it was in a “state of crisis” after student numbers dipped by 13% in just a year.
Meanwhile, the global ELT sector is facing hardship, with EC English officially closing all 25 of its schools last Monday.
It followed an eleventh-hour missive on Friday warning parents and stakeholders that it would not be able to accept students due to arrive at its schools in the coming days.
