CR: Definitely, the market is important and rising. It depends on a lot of factors. The economy is the best thermometer. When we have a stable currency, it enables students and clients to plan ahead. But when the currency fluctuates and gets higher, it creates uncertainty. Students worry whether they can afford it.
News and business analysis for Professionals in International Education
Have some pie!
Carlos Robles, President of BELTA, Brazil
When the currency is stable, which happened a couple of years ago for a period, we saw a phenomenon we had never seen before. The social class we call’ ‘C‘ [there are five social classes in Brazil graded A-E] – which I would call the lower middle class, and which wouldn’t normally have access to international education – started to get access. All of a sudden the study abroad market boomed.
“Suddenly class C could get finance…but then the currency climbed”
The PIE: How did that play out?
CR: It meant that class C could get finance and chose to invest in education. They need overseas training to get ahead in their jobs and for getting better pay. But then the currency climbed from 1.60 or 1.70 reais against the US dollar, where it had been for two years, to 1.80 reais. Then class C just refrained from studying abroad. So while it caused a spike in our statistics, it would have been wrong to use it as a predication for the market, because it went down.
The PIE: What’s the outlook now?
CR: What I see is constant growth, and that’s going to continue. It won’t be as pronounced at what happened with the class C numbers. But it’s on a stable, upward curve.
The PIE: There’s a growing amount of English language teaching being delivered within Brazil by firms such as Abril Educação. Could this harm the study abroad segment?
CR: Yes and no. Of course if you offer that training in Brazil, less people could go abroad. But Brazil is a vast country and we have lots of people with different needs. So I believe that there will always be a market and it will rise. In-country training alone is not enough to stop it.
The PIE: At the recent Languages Canada conference, Canada was highlighted as a growing study destination for Brazilians. Do you see much potential there?
CR: Canada has a very positive image in Brazil in terms of safety. Prices there are also very competitive. It has also marketed its image well in Brazil – it gains a lot of media attention here. Word of mouth then grows and the trend increases. So I really think that Languages Canada and the Canadian government have done a good job in terms of promotion.
“They often want to do some training, not exactly for academic reasons but to experience another culture”
But it also depends on visas and immigration policy. That can be a problem. I think Brazilians are no risk for the majority of countries in terms of illegal immigration, which is good for our image.
The PIE: What sort of visa obstacles do you see in Canada?
CR: I don’t think Canada has been posing any issues recently. Of course not all visas are approved, but generally speaking we have no problems. It’s actually quite easy. I do worry about the proposed scrapping of co-op work and study programmes, where students study a language then practise in a work environment.
Many Brazilians choose this route. They often want to do some training, not exactly for academic reasons but to experience another culture, interact and bring it back to Brazil.
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