International education is becoming a gold mine

More parents than ever before are looking to send their kids to international schools abroad. Hence enrollment numbers and fee income will rise hand-in-hand over the next few years.

This is the result of increased demand from a new generation of expat families and wealthy locals looking to ensure their kids get a international standard of education.

This growth is a result of increased mobility for expat families and a dramatic rise in the number of local children entering international schools. Locals now fill 80% of spaces in international schools, the complete opposite of 30 years ago. The growth in the market over the last 10 years has been significant and remained healthy because of these changing demographics.

Many countries are also trying to send fewer students abroad in order to retain their talents and fight “brain drain.”

Both Malaysia and South Korea are working to become regional hubs for education. Malaysia has lowered taxes and provided land and buildings in development zones. South Korea has actually made plans for an English-only “education city,” Jeju Island, and offered incentives for schools to open there.

GCC countries and Hong Kong. These countries are currently experiencing shortages and will need to fill them.

Schools differentiate themselves primarily through location, buildings, fees, national orientation–like emphasizing their “Britishness”–also through curriculum and examinations.

Each school’s marketing plan will vary depending on how much competition there is and whether it has a waiting list. Because of the shortage of schools many have a full complement of students coming to them.

There are both schools with campuses in multiple countries, including UK private schools like Harrow and Dulwich, as well as multinational groups of countries. Examples of the latter are GEMs, Cognita, Nord Anglia, Taaleem and ESOL.

The one thing nearly all these groups have in common is that they are expanding aggressively either by buying existing schools, expanding existing operations or starting new schools.