How This Moncton Couple Helps More Vietnamese Students Settle in N.B.
MONCTON – In their second year of business, Thy Vo and Sang Le managed to bring 33 Vietnamese to study at high schools, colleges and universities in New Brunswick. This was almost double the students they attracted the year before through their company, Atlantic Canada Education Services (ACES).
The pair saw an opportunity to combine their experience in the education sector, market trends and also the needs of New Brunswick.
“At the moment, the government is [encouraging] talented young people and entrepreneurs to come and settle down here,” says Vo, the co-founder and business relationship manager of ACES.
“They have many immigration programs for international students and entrepreneurs. So we love to ask people to come here, and we settle down here for many years, so we can help them.”
They are also capitalizing on a growing trend for Vietnamese students.
“We found out that Vietnamese students going overseas to study has become more in style,” said Le, co-founder and director of ACES.
ACES serves as an agent for New Brunswick educational institutions abroad, particularly in Vietnam – Vo and Le’s home country. The company has a partnership with Atlantic Education International Inc. (AEI), which offers international students opportunities in New Brunswick through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
AEI has a network of 50 middle schools and high schools across the Anglophone School Districts.
ACES is also a partner of the New Brunswick Community College, University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University. A deal with Mount Allison University is currently in the negotiation process. ACES gets a commission from the schools once the student pays their full tuition. The students don’t pay anything for the service.
The process starts at ACES’s partner schools in Vietnam or when prospective clients are referred to ACES by word of mouth. If a student is interested in coming to Canada, ACES will advise them on where to go and what program may be suitable for them. The students are responsible for the visa process and buying plane tickets.
One the students arrive in Canada, ACES provides a three-day free orientation on Canadian culture, the transport system, key places in the cities or towns they’re studying in, and to help them register for things like a social insurance number and Medicare. The next orientation will be in August, with 15 students going to NBCC, UNB Fredericton and some high schools.
“Within two years of them studying in Canada, we’ll still support them. For example, if they get sick and they have no one to help them, they can knock on the door and we’re willing to help them,” Vo said.
In Vietnam, Vo and Le owned a math learning centre franchised from the U.S. and a kindergarten. Both have also worked in management positions in the education sector. They moved to Moncton with their daughter in 2014 so they can provide a better life for their family.
“We want [our daughter] to have a better education. If we work hard, we contribute to the CPP, we can have a good retirement. That’s why we run the business,” Vo said.
“I love it here because I love the people here. We can have the connection and support. It’s a safe place for kids, you don’t have to worry. There’s a lot of program for kids and we’re happy,” Vo added, saying her daughter is now in cadets.
The couple came through the Provincial Nominee program for entrepreneurs, had to invest and create a business in New Brunswick within a given time frame. They had set up a different business, but moved to the education sector after seeing opportunities there.
At that time, the government of Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada had an 18-month pilot program called Canada Express Study, which streamlines the immigration process for Vietnamese students to study in Canadian colleges.
That has since been replaced by the Study Direct Stream program, which has a similar objective but with higher language requirements and targetting legal residents in Vietnam, the Philippines, India and China.
ACES also serves as an agent for an immigration consultancy firm, with whom it works to attract businesspeople from Vietnam and Malaysia to New Brunswick.
For now they’re doing everything themselves. In the future, Vo and Le plan to hire one or two people to help with their business.
“Whenever I go to Vietnam, I need someone to help my husband here or whenever I’m here, [the employee] can go to Vietnam to do the marketing there,” Vo said.