Suez in Spain is one of NELC’s most prestigious clients. They operate mainly in the water treatment, waste management and maintenance sectors. Their Organization and People Director for South Europe and Latam, Francesc Mayné, tells us about his experience with language training in NELC.
What are the your company’s language training needs and your personal ones?
We need language training in English for different levels in the organisation. Our professionals need to improve their fluency and feel more confident. They need business English, often including English for meetings, negotiations, presentations and socialising in a business context. They also need English for technical aspects of their jobs such as to talk with colleagues about waste water or water treatment plants.
I need to talk regularly in English with senior management in Paris by phone or videoconference, so it’s important that I can always understand them and that I can express my ideas clearly. I also need to make periodic presentations to the management in Paris. For this reason, I need to feel confident about what I’m presenting and it’s very useful to be able to go through a presentation a number of times with my trainer, to ensure that my ideas are easy to understand and to try to reduce the number of errors I make. It’s not only a question of English, it’s also a very helpful way to prepare for a major presentation.
Why did Suez choose NELC as a language provider?
Agbar-Suez chose NELC because we wanted a premium service for our top managers. These managers have limited time and really need to take advantage of any time they dedicate to classes, so we need to know that the trainers are of the highest quality. We know that with NELC, we can be sure that our managers will be happy with the service and will make clear progress in the areas that they need to improve.
In your opinion, what are the most positive aspects of NELC language training for your company?
NELC are very good at providing serious, useful professional training, but making sure that it’s fun and enjoyable. That’s very important for busy executives. In addition, there is a strong focus on correction which is vital in order to improve. The quality of the trainers is also very high. They are experts in Business English and ensure that our managers practice what they really need.
“NELC trainers have a lot of experience working with senior executives and know how to prepare sessions which are made-to-measure.”
What would you highlight about the NELC methodology and teachers?
NELC trainers have a lot of experience working with senior executives and know how to prepare sessions which are made-to-measure. It’s easy to see the preparation that has gone into a session and that really makes a difference. We are also very happy with the focus on fluency and correction, instead of a more traditional grammar-based approach. On a personal note, I definitely feel I’ve improved my fluency and my pronunciation.
What aspects can you highlight about the adaptation of NELC training from face-to-face to videoconference online?
At first, training online takes a little time to get used to, but once you’re used to it, it works well and even offers advantages like the shared notes function which allows you to see errors as you make them.
How has NELC language training contributed to Suez success? How do you see the return on investment of our trainings?
NELC has helped our senior managers to develop close relationships with Paris which has been vital for the success of the company. While it’s difficult to evaluate the return on investment, our senior managers are very happy and the service is certainly very valuable.
