Saxoncourt Executive Training is striving to improve international business communication for a closer-knit global village. Maki Nibayashi speaks to Director Jason Dominici about the opportunities in this unique company.

Please tell us a bit about your company.

Saxoncourt Executive Training is the branch of Shane Language Services that specializes in in-company training for business executives. Shane has been operating successfully in Japan for over 20 years and has operations in Taiwan, China, Poland, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa as well as in our home base in the UK. Our goal is to help companies in Japan prepare for the challenge of global communication in the 21st century. This involves both business language training and communications skills training, such as making effective international presentations.

What makes your methods different from others?

I think the main differences lie with both the quality and experience of our teachers and trainers and the range of courses that we are able to offer. The level of training for business English in Japan is still very much premature in that the experience and qualifications of many teachers in the market are below what customers should be demanding. In the future, this will be unacceptable. Through a careful internal and external recruitment process we are able to select the quality of personnel the market demands.

As well as offering the standard text-based courses, we also specialize in courses designed to meet the particular requirements of individual clients. European companies now require industry- and function-specific courses that blend language skills, communication techniques and cross-cultural training, and one of my objectives is to produce more of these. As companies are increasingly realizing in the US and Europe, language ability alone is not enough to guarantee international success. Without an understanding of our counterpartsEcultural patterns and sensitivity to cultural differences, effective international communication is virtually impossible.

What positions are you seeking to fill and can you tell us about the responsibilities, and requirements for those positions?

We are mainly looking for experienced senior business language and communication skills trainers that would be interested in part-time, in-company training on a contractual basis. We are particularly looking for trainers who have experience in blending language training with communication skills and cross-cultural awareness. Our basic requirements are as follows: native speaker, strong university degree, recognized teaching/training qualification, minimum three to five years teaching experience, three years-plus international experience, working knowledge and understanding of different cultures, and business experience a plus. Candidates must be highly professional, a trainer from the heart and, most importantly, a good communicator.

Can you tell us about salaries and benefits, etc.?

For part-time contracts we offer extremely competitive hourly rates plus end-of-contract bonuses. Also, our trainers can chose contracts that utilize their particular areas of expertise.

Contact information:

Jason Dominici or David Rear, Saxoncourt Executive Training. Shane Language Services. 4F Dai 2 Yoshida Bldg, 5-1-2 Higashi Kasai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 134-0084.

Tel: 03-3687-6989, fax 03- 3687-7504