EF Education First AG

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EF Education First AG

logo
legal form Corporation
founding 1965
Seat Lucerne , Switzerland
management Bertil Hult
Number of employees 52,000
including 24,500 office workers (2020)
sales 2.0 billion CHF
(2005, estimate)
Branch Education, travel
Website www.ef.de

The EF Education First group of companies is a global provider of education (especially language teaching) and travel services. According to self-promotion, it is the largest private educational institution in the world.

EF Education was founded by the Swede Bertil Hult in Stockholm as Europeiska Ferieskolan (European Holiday School ) and is still family-owned. The group's head office has been in Lucerne since 2001 ; other important offices are located in Boston , Hong Kong , Shanghai , London and Zurich . The company currently employs around 38,000 permanent employees and 14,000 temporary employees (language teachers and tour guides) worldwide.

history

EF founder Bertil Hult organized a group trip for Swedish students to the south of England for the first time in 1965. Princess Margaretha of Sweden opened the first EF International Language School in Cambridge in 1978 . 1983 saw the opening of the first EF language school in the USA. EF Education First became the first foreign-run language school in Shanghai in 1993. In 1997 the online language school Englishtown.com began . In 2001 there was a crisis because of the consequences of September 11, 2001 for the travel industry. In 2001 the company moved from Amsterdam to more tax-efficient Switzerland. EF Education First became the National Partner of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in 2007 . In 2008, EF bought both Huron University in London and Marrymount College in Tarrytown NY / USA. EF and Cambridge University ESOL signed a comprehensive cooperation in 2008. Among other things, there is a joint research center in Cambridge. In 2016 the company was the official partner for language schools at the Olympic Games and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2020, EF is registered in the "language training services" category at the Olympic Games in Japan.

Business areas and brands (current)

Language schools and language trips

  • EF language trips - holiday language trips for participants between 8 and 19 years of age.
  • EF language courses abroad - language courses from the age of 16 in the host country; around half of group sales are achieved with this product
  • EF year abroad - Longer-term language courses in the host country, usually six or nine months as a "gap year" ( intermediate year ).
  • EF English First - English schools in non-English speaking countries, mostly in emerging markets; some English-first-schools are as franchising operated

Internet and company offers

  • EF English Live - virtual language school (with real teachers) over the Internet
  • EF Language Learning Solutions - Language courses for corporate clients and executives

Cultural exchange programs

  • EF High School Exchange Year - Allows students to spend a year in high school ; mostly in the USA, but also in Great Britain and Ireland.
  • Cultural Care Au Pair - Allows young people in the United States as an au pair to work

Institutes of higher education

  • Hult International Business School in Cambridge MA ( USA ), San Francisco , Dubai , London and Shanghai; a university and business school that emerged from the former "Arthur D Little Business School" and the also acquired Huron University in London.
  • EF University Preparation Abroad (formerly: "EF Brittin College") - A multi-campus institution in the UK, USA and Australia that prepares foreign students (especially from less developed countries) for study in English-speaking countries.
  • EF Academy - Private boarding schools in the US and UK; they offer the "Advanced Level" and " International Baccalaureate " degrees .

Study trips

(marketed in the US, Canada, and India)

  • EF Educational Tours - study trips for school groups abroad
  • Smithsonian Student Travel - domestic travel for American school groups
  • EF College Break - Study trips abroad for college students
  • GoAhead Vacations - group travel for Americans (mostly retirees)

languages

EF International Language Schools currently teach the following eleven (ten plus one complementary) languages:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Company Fact Sheet 2020. Accessed February 16, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Company Fact Sheet 2020. Accessed February 16, 2020 .
  3. ↑ EF Education First is the official partner for language training at the Olympic Games and Paralympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Accessed January 30, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Tokyo 2020 Welcomes EF Education First Japan Ltd. as a Tokyo 2020 Official Partner ｜ The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved January 30, 2019 .