Finally, some good news....
Yesterday there was a big meeting, simulcast from Tokyo and Osaka, wherein the court-appointed lawyers, representatives from various government offices and high mucky-mucks from the company that's taking us over told us what was going on. And what was going on is... surprisingly good.
This new owner, G.Education, is taking over NOVA. They're willing to hire any NOVA employees who want to be hired, which was part of the meeting - they gave us a resignation form, a request for employment and a questionnaire about our time in NOVA. Hopefully they should be contacting everyone by the 14th to tell us more about the details of working for them - i.e. a real contract and all that.
Now here's the interesting bit. They're planning to start by re-opening 30 branches across the country and gradually expanding to 200. This means, of course, that they can't put everyone to work right away. But, on the Request for Employment form, in black and white, it says, "Even if there is no NOVA school in your desired area of employment and you end up standing by at home, your salaries shall be fully paid."
So it looks like I will have income again. I'll know more details by the end of the week, but the most important thing is that I'll have an income.
And the good news is that if the contract presented by G.Education is unacceptable, I can still turn it down and apply for unemployment while I look for a better job.
So my plan now is: get hired and replenish my savings. Save like a madman until, say, April and try to get into the CELTA certification course down in Kobe. It's four months of meeting every Saturday, 9 to 5:30 and it's outrageously expensive, but it's a very well-regarded certification and will open the doors to a lot of other jobs, both in and out of Japan.
It will help if I can negotiate a Saturday/Sunday weekend so that The Boyfriend and I can still get together.... But that's later. Now, I seem to have a job. And that's a good thing...
This new owner, G.Education, is taking over NOVA. They're willing to hire any NOVA employees who want to be hired, which was part of the meeting - they gave us a resignation form, a request for employment and a questionnaire about our time in NOVA. Hopefully they should be contacting everyone by the 14th to tell us more about the details of working for them - i.e. a real contract and all that.
Now here's the interesting bit. They're planning to start by re-opening 30 branches across the country and gradually expanding to 200. This means, of course, that they can't put everyone to work right away. But, on the Request for Employment form, in black and white, it says, "Even if there is no NOVA school in your desired area of employment and you end up standing by at home, your salaries shall be fully paid."
So it looks like I will have income again. I'll know more details by the end of the week, but the most important thing is that I'll have an income.
And the good news is that if the contract presented by G.Education is unacceptable, I can still turn it down and apply for unemployment while I look for a better job.
So my plan now is: get hired and replenish my savings. Save like a madman until, say, April and try to get into the CELTA certification course down in Kobe. It's four months of meeting every Saturday, 9 to 5:30 and it's outrageously expensive, but it's a very well-regarded certification and will open the doors to a lot of other jobs, both in and out of Japan.
It will help if I can negotiate a Saturday/Sunday weekend so that The Boyfriend and I can still get together.... But that's later. Now, I seem to have a job. And that's a good thing...