c h i l d r e n ’s p r o d u c t s a n d s e r v i c e s f e at u r e
EXPERT ADVICE: John Collins | Kumon Education
Value of Education Franchises Grows During Pandemic
John Collins is Kumon North America’s vice president of Center Network Development
Franchises in the education industry received a substantial boost from an unlikely source: the pandemic. Education enrichment franchises were already experiencing strong growth before COVID because of the increased competition for spots in leading universities and parents’ desire to give their kids an edge as they pursue secondary education and enter the job market. When COVID forced schools to close and pivot to virtual learning, parents scrambled to not only prevent their kids from falling behind but also to give them every advantage moving forward. A spike in demand for education enrichment services coincided with The Great Resignation, which led to an unprecedented number of employees leaving their jobs in search of more meaningful work. 34 Franchising MAGAZINE USA
“Many entrepreneurial-minded individuals seek to change their lifestyles by opening their own business, and they appreciate that franchising offers a proven business model, established systems and extensive training,” says Mike Shim, senior vice president of field operations for Kumon North America. “Kumon experienced a tremendous increase in interest from teachers, especially, who want to have greater control over their schedule and their future but want to use their classroom experience to continue to make a difference in the lives of children. The corporate support is a big draw, as this is a first business venture for most of them.” Kumon, the top education franchise in North America, added 65 new centers in 2021 to total more than 2,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. This year, Kumon anticipates extremely strong growth in California, Texas, New Jersey and New York, as well as Canada. After-school enrichment programs like Kumon are worth $23.5 billion in the U.S. National data backs up the trend of teachers leaving schools for the private sector: • 300,000 teachers and school-related staff left their fields between February 2020 and May 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. • 55% of teachers said they would leave education sooner than planned, up from 37% last August, according to a 2022 National Education Association poll. • 44% of public schools in the U.S. reported full- or part-time vacancies at the start of last school year, according
to the National Center for Education Statistics. Many of those teachers are turning to Kumon; in fact, they are driving the company’s growth. They seek new career opportunities where they can continue to both use their training and experience and do what they love – teach and make a difference at a high level – outside of the school system and with an eye toward building their own business for the future. Just like others who are leaving their jobs to open their own small businesses, teachers want to have more control over their schedules, cut out bureaucracy and be their own boss. Former teacher Georgette Kankwende, now the owner-operator of Kumon Center of Fort Worth-Woodland Springs, was thrilled to trade in her 80-minute-per-day commute to the school where she worked for a five-minute drive to her own business, which opened in January 2021. “Enrollment has been really good,” Kankwende says. “I could tell in the first three months that there was a need for Kumon in my area, and it really hasn’t slowed down at all. We now have more than 150 students.”
