Zimbabwe - and closer to home

A4e's African arm is now involved in education in the troubled country of Zimbabwe. The company, described as "an international non-governmental organisation", has joined up with Teaching Zimbabwe in a project to set up two academies as centres of excellence and to "lure other local and international investors to pour resources into the country’s education sector". The project is described on the website of the Education Minister, Senator David Coltart. The venture could increase speculation that A4e would seek greater involvement in education in Britain if a Conservative government pursued its plan to allow parents' groups and other organisations to take over the running of schools.

Meanwhile, back in Britain, there's an interesting use of statistics from Jo Britto & Associates, a firm which provides, among other things, Employability Coaching. A4e have used their services with some success. “When Joe came to A4e, we were struggling to meet our outcome targets. Within six weeks, as a result of his motivational coaching, client outcomes in terms of work trials and jobs went from 25% to 55%” says a testimonial from A4e. We are not told where this happened or how many clients were involved.