BONARD Trade Missions: What the next 12 months have in store
As the events specialists in our Recruitment Solutions team prepare for a flurry of trade missions, we look at their destinations and what they reveal about the global K-12 sector.
BONARD Trade Missions: What the next 12 months have in store
As the events specialists in our Recruitment Solutions team prepare for a series of trade missions, we look at their destinations and what they reveal about the global K-12 sector.
From Mexico City to Istanbul, the upcoming travel schedule looks busy and exciting for BONARD’s Recruitment Solutions Team.
In the coming months, the team will travel to countries across Asia, Europe, and Latin America to manage and facilitate trade missions for Canadian associations operating in the K-12 and language education sectors.
BONARD and its partners organize trade missions that provide a platform where international educators and selected local agents can meet and foster business partnerships.
Strategic planning: how trade missions are born
Each trade mission begins with extensive planning and preparation at BONARD HQ.
Here, the Recruitment Solutions team collaborates closely with the Research and Development team to track and investigate significant mobility trends in key source markets.
They then work with clients to select the most promising destinations for their trade missions. The process combines the client’s preferences with a tailored strategic plan developed by the BONARD team.
Once the destination is selected, the Recruitment Solutions team taps into BONARD’s extensive network to identify, screen, and select the best education agencies in each country to meet clients’ requirements and needs.
When asked about the most requested markets, Hajickova says, “Usually, Asian countries are the priority: Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and especially Vietnam. We also receive many requests for Central and Eastern Europe and LATAM countries.”
Keeping in touch
The team has already organised trade missions in all these countries—either in person or remotely during the pandemic years.
“These are attractive markets. Several clients target them for recruitment activities, and they usually base the decision to organize a second or third trade mission on the strategic plan we develop together. It is important to maintain active relationships with stakeholders in each source market,” Hajickova observes.
Each market, region, and country has its own requirements and unique features.
One similarity, Slobodnikova explains, is Canada’s reputation. “Canada is very popular,” she explains. “Students and their parents appreciate its safety, relative affordability compared to other study destinations, and the quality and reputation of its schools, colleges, and universities.”
However, there are nuances around other aspects, such as how easy it is for students from a specific country to obtain a visa, what the most popular courses are, and whether students prefer long-term or short-term programs.
Diving into the data
Student mobility statistics are not just an evidence base to inform and support strategic decisions—they can also tell complex and compelling stories.
Dr. Ivana Bartosik, who heads the International Education team at BONARD, is best placed to walk us through the data and explain its significance for international educators.
She specifies that the insights she can provide on the countries that will host the next trade missions only apply to Canada as a destination country. “The student profile changes for each destination,” she explains.
European countries, she explains, are mature source markets with strong outbound student mobility and purchasing power but less room for growth compared to other regions. “They are stable markets,” she says.
Finally, Mexico and Türkiye match high levels of demand with a marked preference for short-term programs. “Although they are in two different regions, these two countries have a similar student profile,” Dr. Bartosik explains. “Mexico and Turkey are also brilliant markets for educators keen on diversifying their student recruitment.”
Future destinations and trends
Other source markets could make exciting destinations for trade missions in the future.
According to the data, Colombia, Brazil, and Japan could be particularly interesting for the Canadian K-12 education sector, Dr. Bartosik explains.
One key trend that educators in the K-12 sector should keep in mind, according to Dr. Bartosik, is that intra-regional student mobility in Asia is on the rise, as shown by the increasing numbers of branch campuses of boarding schools from the UK and other traditional destination countries.
“For parents, this is a great opportunity as it offers the best of both worlds: children can have an international education in a country that is both geographically and culturally close, and tuition fees can sometimes be cheaper,” she explains.
“Educators need to be aware of what their competitors are doing in the region and how active they are because the environment will become very competitive. International high schools can also offer educators another recruitment channel beyond traditional education agencies.”
Follow along as we travel!
As we travel around the world, we always keep our audience updated. We share interviews with stakeholders, data, and soft intelligence to provide fresh information on each country we visit. Follow us on LinkedIn for all the latest news from our travels!
Our Recruitment Solutions team at BONARD is dedicated to planning, managing and facilitating trade missions for clients worldwide. Learn more about the team here or get in touch with us at education@bonard.com.
Special thanks to our Canadian partners, CAPS-I, AAPS-I, IPSEA, and Languages Canada, for fostering meaningful international connections through their trade missions. We look forward to conducting another successful series of events together.
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