Major ELT provider ILAC Education Group abruptly files for bankruptcy, leaving students and partners with little further detail on next steps – although group promises to communicate updates in due course.
Closure comes almost immediately in the wake of EC English’s shock decision to close its doors earlier this week.
Stakeholders say the news marks “the end of an era” and warn of ripple effects to be felt across the sector.
The PIE retraces the ILAC story, including a move into higher education delivery via partnerships before the government capped visas in 2024.
The news came late on Friday September 18 via ILAC’s website, as the Canadian group – which had schools in Toronto and Vancouver – abruptly closed its business.
At least 1,000 international students are thought to be impacted – scrambling to work out what to do next. ILAC simply revealed it had filed for bankruptcy protection. Its immediate priority is to support its students and partners through the change, it stated, promising on a Friday night that “next steps will be communicated directly to those affected”.
“Information regarding current programs, student services and next steps will be communicated directly to those affected and will be updated on this website as information becomes available,” it said.
ILAC was a 30-year old business and one of the largest ELT operators in Canada, with the PE firm ONCAP becoming a majority investor in the business in 2019.
It pivoted to move into PPPs, “public-private partnerships”, from late 2020, before new rules curtailed the PPP market from accessing PGWP (post-graduate work permit) in 2024.
The shock news comes just days after another major ELT closure, after EC English confirmed it was shutting all of its 25 schools, citing “challenging financial conditions and the failure to secure additional investment”.
Stakeholders have said the news marks “the end of an era”, but note a closure on this scale is likely to cause ripple effects with financial fallout and student confidence dented.
Commenting on the news on LinkedIn, chief executive of Expo Vente a Canadá, Stephen Wharton, said that the closure would not just affect one company but “a whole ecosystem”.
“My thoughts are with the people who made ILAC what it was, and with the students and agents who trusted it,” he said.
Information regarding current programs, student services and next steps will be communicated directly to those affected and will be updated on this website as information becomes available
ILAC
The founders of ILAC were Jon Kolber, Ilan Cohen and Bernardo Riveros. This article in Business Elite Canada explains the origin story, with a determined recruitment focus on Latin America.
In late 2020, ILAC announced a partnership with Georgian College in Toronto. At the time, it was announced Georgian “will launch with three programs at ILAC’s boutique-style campus located in downtown Toronto”.
ILAC also announced a tie-up with Fanshawe College in 2021. “ILAC will begin offering Fanshawe programs starting in spring 2022,” detailed the announcement, alongside an ambition of Fanshawe to double its international student enrolments over five years.
In summer 2023, ILAC and Fanshawe College celebrated the grand opening of a new, larger campus in downtown Toronto, boasting 44 classrooms and serving some 1,200 international students from 29 countries. It also acquired Tamwood College in the same year.
In Jan 2024, the Canadian government moved to cap international student visas and restrict any graduates of PPPs from accessing the labour market, with rules applicable from September of that year, causing a massive market contraction.
ILAC announced a pivot in business operations in 2024 given the new rules – and in the same year, it also acquired digital recruitment platform, UniApplyNow.
One of the business evolutions it outlined in 2024 was the expansion of its online school, ILAC KISS.
Check back for updates on this emerging story…