One of Hong Kong’s best tutors just turned down an $11 million job offer from a rival company. Lam Yat-yan, who is a highly popular tutor, was offered the big sum to leave his current company, Beacon Group, for another called Modern Education.
Education is a big business in Hong Kong, according to CNBC. And popular tutors are hailed as celebrities.
Per the publication:
Tutors are typically paid commission per student and the use of video technology has allowed them to expand their reach. When Mr Lam gives a live class, Beacon records it and later rebroadcasts it as many as 18 times, with students who watch the video getting just a HK$20 discount on the HK$590 fee for four sessions.
A former student praised Lam effusively. “I think he’s a good talker, that’s his biggest selling point,” said Tiffany Lai of her former instructor. “I saw people crying even in some of his video classes, all because of the motivational things he said.”
But Lam made it clear he isn’t about jump ship. According to CNBC:
Mr Lam said he wanted to stay at Beacon as long as it provided a “fair and reasonable workplace”, telling his 67,000 fans on Facebook that “it makes no difference for me to make 50 million or 80 million dollars more”.
The publication reported that the industry raised about $119 million to $132 million last year. Hong Kong reportedly has over 900 tuition centers for high school students, although enrollment is dropping.