I wonder why that could be? Please leave your suggestion in the comments box below!
1. "Worst company to work for"
in
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
I have
been working at HCT (More than 3 years)
Pros
Nothing. If you think of money, it's the
lowest paying company in UAE government.
Cons
Everything: from lack of respect to
humans, to the breaches of law on daily basis. They are basically governed by
an unclear law, not the Labor Law of the UAE.
Advice to Management
Change all of you from top to bottom. And
when someone flags breaches in your organization, please pay attention,
otherwise you're a crook exactly like the people who committed the law
violations.
2. "lengthy and inefficient hiring process - stay away
from this company"
in
Doesn't
Recommend
Negative
Outlook
I worked at HCT full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Nothing. Salary was less than expected
and I had to accept it to keep the visa. They are good only to keep your
residency visa valid.
Cons
Everything. Lengthy and inefficient
employment process that resulted with low offer, wrong details, hostile work
environment and pain throughout the journey.
Advice to Management
Change all of you and get introduced to
something called Human Rights.
3. "Caution"
Doesn't
Recommend
Negative
Outlook
I worked at HCT full-time
Pros
There are not sufficient pros to attempt
to make a positive image for the HCT. If one could say something positive about
the establishment is would be their past. In the past (I worked there for
nearly 15 years) it was a smooth effective system. If you are very new to
education and the UAE, it may be OK for 1-2 years to collect cash and gain
experience. Don't worry about breaking your contract, they will not hold their end. But - the problem with this - is
they hold the key to your release with paperwork. Yes, government clearance
letters you need to exit properly and legally ranging from clearing phones, electric
bills, and so on. If these are not clear you could technically be held at the
airport. If you risk that, just be sure to send any significant others a day or
two before you. No need for all of you to be held - which could technically
happen.
Cons
Have a look at Daves
ESL job forms. Contracts are being broken, housing benefits downgraded in a
very expensive rental market (rent will cost $20 000 usd minimum for a place
even in the countryside), education allowances slashed, and to be very fair -
people are bullied by upper management. Recently in Dubai
There are other places. Also, this is not a hospitable environment. Do yourself a favour - stay clear.
There are other places. Also, this is not a hospitable environment. Do yourself a favour - stay clear.
Advice to Management
There is no advice that can be given -
too arrogant to listen. Why pretend.
29 comments:
Have no doubts, HCT is being butchered from the inside.
Last semester all discretionary emergency leave was abolished, and has to be taken now as unpaid leave. One colleague reports having lost several thousand dirhams due to having to attend a family emergency and not being 'granted' leave!
Equally bad, holidays will not begin this year until July 12, and we're all expected to be back by August 26. The nine weeks has somehow been shrunk to six!
HCT sucks? No doubt about that!
Well there you go!! since the current VC has been in his position of power the decline of conditions at HCT begun.
I believe HCT will eventually implode if it has not done so already. I taught there from 2013 to December 2017 and boy was I glad to leave that dysfunctional place.
Management are running scared and blaming people below them for the mistakes that are happening because little information and poor directions given to their subordinates means mistakes are happening all the time.
HCT are after accreditation towards becoming a university "of sorts" and this is just a prestige thing that the current VC wants at "ANY COST".
All the students are up in arms because the college is treating them as sausages i.e. "squeeze in the filling seal both ends in as short as time possible with less costs to the college" and send out to the work force, unprepared and poorly educated because the teachers have had a gut full and moral is so poor that the teachers do not give any concerns on how good the training material is.
Eventually things will come to a head and either there will be a massive clean out of the college management or the college will just be treated as if its a government funding black hole to be avoided at all costs
All these issues are features, not bugs. Plan is to make it implode/so bad that no one wants to attend and they can close a money losing venture.
Things here are so absurd - they're cutting to the bone some of the services that were previously seen as essential, and are indeed so. Take the Advisers' roles for instance: now the job has been rolled into registration as well! So all registration and timetabling matters are now centralized, meaning there are just a couple of bods in Dubai trying to cover both classroom allocation and registering ALL of the HCT students - almost 20k students!
It does not make sense to have facility doing all these extra tasks. Its well known that the wages for people from the sub continent are very low and employing a number of them to handle enrollments and other admin tasks would not affect HCT's bottom line budget. I just think the top management are running scared for their own jobs and if they do not find ways to cut costs then they will be replaced by someone who can!! this is just another way to look like the college is running more efficiently. The board of trustees need to request that the inept VC resign but I doubt that will happens as its full of the VC relatives and friends talk about nepotism !!!!!!!!!!!
So many are posting expressing the displeasure and commenting how bad the HCT is. Look guys why are you working in this institution, and why did you go there? That could be because: a) you did not have a proper job in your own country, having had poor academic credentials b) you thought, you could save a bucket-full of dosh. In the case of the latter , do it for 3/4 years and get out fast.
As for this blog author Suede Oasis rants, he is doing this because he has no better work to do! Look at which blog he follows- " the Singapore Dissident" , a blog where the blogger Gopalan Nair who was kicked out of his country of birth and who promised the judges in Singapore that he will stop being the hate preacher in exchange for his release from Singapore jail. This he did under oath, knowing fully well as a lawyer that he was lying to get out of the country of birth, which he revisited under own volition to stir up animosity towards the ruling party. This tells you all about Suede Oasis too!
In places like HCT in the Arab's world, where you get students who have no brains, are thick as a plank and management who are autocratic. This is not Western democracy. This is quintessential Arab world with towel heads practicing skulduggery.
Just to add to the above mentioned " Singapore Dissident" blog author Gopalan Nair. The last post of rants by him was on November 20, 2017. This is June 2, 2018. Over 6 months have passed, no new post has appeared in that blog. One wonders why?
This report has come in.
The business School at HCT which was the most successfull, is now smaller than both IT and Engineering, but the entire HCT is hemorraging students.
The business dean, Aisha has lost face and seems powerless to reverse this; she is grabbing at straws. Kinda sad; but HCT might be giving her enough rope to hang herself.
One must be really desperate to go to this cesspit called HCT, and to teach those thick heads. This must be really soul-destroying exercise. Instead of thinking of staying long and creating a career, why can't these desperate souls stay for 3/4 years saving money and the get the hell out of these! You cannot measure any Arab institution using the Western yardstick. These were bedouins not long ago.
Hmm, somehow you missed this precious little item from glassdoor,Suede-O!
Cons
• Faculty hours were reduced to 30hrs/w. Nevertheless, due to 20h/week teaching load and extra admin duties, this did not make any difference to the majority, and top management knew that. If you are assigned an academic administrator duties, then this hour reduction doesn’t apply.
• They reduced the education allowance to 60,000AED ($16,350) per family, with a cap of 45,000AED for one child. Last year, it was 120,000AED. The current allowance is not enough to cover the school’s expensive tuition. You will end up paying from your own packet.
• As faculty, you are responsible for organizing many events every semester. If you don’t, this will impact your annual performance and evaluation.
• Your annual performance range is from 1 to 5. Many were rated at 4/5. But, the central services (HR) will reduce to 3. Why? So you get a less financial award.
• Don't believe promises made by top management. They can easily change their mind. Example: faculty and fast track promotion.
• HCT introduced last fall faculty ranking. Many joined in with faculty ranks. When this process was finalized, many of them were demoted to a lower rank, despite previous promises by the top management to recognize their ranking. For example: a full professor was given an associate professor ranking. This translates to lower pay.
• Many changes occur during the semesters with new rules. New rules are usually determent to faculty.
• You are required to do invigilations on weekends for final exams and EM-SAT. You can claim a day off in lieu before or after ONLY. As long as it doesn’t impact the schedule of classes to faculty. Well, you have classes every day of the week. So good luck using it.
• You must do clock-in/clock-out. If you are short of few minutes, an email will be sent requiring justifications.
• A written warning is given for any mistake you make. This will prevent you from being promoted to higher faculty rank, and obtain the annual faulty financial award.
• No job security. Any contract can be, and they often are, cancelled with 6 months notice, no reason needed. If you are not Emirati, you will have to leave some day.
• HCT has key performance indicators (KPI) implemented across all departments. You are required to meet the KPIs set by upper management. Failure to do so will impact your performance.
• Their salaries and benefits are considered the lowest among government universities.
• You may be assigned to teach in other campuses, which requires commuting during rush hours.
• High turn over in employment. Every year many faculty resign.
• A culture of fear within this organization, poor communication, and lack of transparency from upper management.
• All faculty are upset and not happy with their work environment. You never hear any compliments about the upper management.
• Ironically, the upper management are promoting happiness, yet, no one is happy.
• Seventy two faculty applied for fast-track promotion when the new ranking system was introduced, only twelve got. Why? The upper management doesn’t have a budget per their claim. They just want the local accreditation to get through.
• Finally, this place attracts people who could not get into any of the colleges in their own countries to teach. If you are desperate, then come and bare the consequences of this lousy management.
Looks like you missed this one too, from eslcafe.com...
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:58 pm Post subject: New Rules at HCT (and affecting ZU and UAEU)
Now that the academic semester is winding down and many ex-pats at HCT are permanently departing, a few have come forward without fear of reprisal to relate the following recent changes and events via emails which have been paraphrased/condensed and not reflecting my opinion:
"*No contract is binding. Exactly 1 minute before the end of the work day, HR sent an email asking to collect contract amendment letters. Benefits such as education have either been halved or totally removed (capped at 30,000 dhs). Original contract term supposed to end in 2019 suddenly will end in 2018 or at the end of this month (June 2017). Many have sought legal representation.
Many support staff have been demoted from L3 to L1 as administrative assistants. Some who were renewed in January now find their contracts have been rescinded as of July.
Some ex-pats have been reassigned to another college in another Emirate at the last minute, which may involve commuting 200 km from their former residence because they can’t afford to break a lease agreement and/or is too late to find a new school for their children. Others learned just last week that they have NOT been renewed after all and must leave UAE in two months.
*A single mother of three who was an instructor at DMC died of a heart attack shortly after receiving the new amendment. [Sadly,] HCT announced her death via an email after office hours.
And for those few left behind, the prospect of having to cover the duties of the terminated is not something anyone looks forward to next academic year. "
PS
Last edited by peripatetic_soul on Wed Jun 07, 2017 2:24 am; edited 1 time in total
... add to this abuse .... we were served with our new 3 year contracts yesterday .... at lower salary (-15%) in my case .... but more significantly a major change to the gratuity!!!! .... after 10 years here, I now will have ALL of my gratuity calculated on the average of the last 5 years of my employment????? i.e. say an average between my NEW salary of 18,000+ and my original 22,000+ to give me a SIGNIFICANT reduction in my final payout in the near six figures .... a cluster fuck!! ... and yeah ... I have 2 days to sign this new contract or be terminated and forced to leave the country by the 12th July .... am currently talking to lawyers because they are screwing everyone ... without a second thought of the repercussions .... its simply stunning in its brutality.... all of the above is true to the last letter ...
@Delma: "Finally, this place attracts people who could not get into any of the colleges in their own countries to teach. If you are desperate, then come and bare the consequences of this lousy management"
In the above, it should be " bear". Just check the meanings of " bare" and "bear", Seems that you are the right person to be at HCT!
@Anonymous above:Consulting lawyers in a Sheikhdom? Hilarious!!
Suede O, your friend Gopalan Nair, whose blog you are following, has not ranted this year in his blog, the last rant was in November 2017. Seems that he got fed up because, very few read his rants (?), and hence must have given up. Or, is he chained in legs and spending the rest of his time in a Singapore jail, like the last time when he foolishly returned there to be an activist in political rallies and got chained. He was released, when under oath , he gave an undertaking that he will return to the USA-the country of his asylum, and desist from his rants directed at Singapore leaders of the ruling party. He did not keep his solemn undertaking-some lawyer!! He ranted every week in his blog, some times twice a week ( this so called busy lawyer!!), and now this silence over 7 months!!
And so just what is your point, Anon (above)?
Or are you just continuing to be an apologist for authoritarian regimes?
Come on, give us all an answer!
@Anon 12 July. The point is, you all should have been very desperate to get into this cesspit called HCT and you cannot complain now. You must have been really thick not to understand that you are in a camel racing country ruled by towel heads!
Before the current VC took over, HCT was an OK institution. Yes, there were complaints from students, staff and administrators, but not to the level you have now. Not to put a finer point on it, the current VC is a sadistic, ignorant, arrogant, lying con artist who, in the space of few years, has destroyed HCT. The destruction is still going on helped by the fact that since he took over he has surrounded himself with a bunch of people who are as despicable, dishonest, arrogant, ignorant and incompetent as he is. The only way for the HCT to recover is by removing him and his mafia completely and never again let them near any educational institution in the country. I have read somewhere that he is writing or has written a book with the title "The making of Education". This is a real joke. I would like to suggest an alternative title: The DESTRUCTION of Education". I think the VC is well qualified to write such a book!
Now that the VC is CEO, things are looking up at HCT :)
I appreciate your irony, above - 10/10!
OMG, Suede Oasis's ranting blog has become an attractive place for loan sharks to advertise. Move on Suede, and get a life.
If you’re still monitoring Suede it sounds as if you need to get a life or were you one of the idiots he outed?
Point taken. Suffice to say that I have 'moved on', to use the popular cliche, but I still keep half an eye on the past, so that certain others will have a better present. I guess I'm just too much of an altruist!
Recent stories from the bowels of HCT have been scarce, which is perhaps an unfortunate reflection of the excessive pressure that has been put on current inmates to keep silent.
However, Suede is just as keen as ever to receive information concerning the Evil Empire, and would like to make an appeal for new stories. You know my address!
The latest posting about HCT on Glass Door reports the following:
24 Sep 2018 Helpful (4)
HCT Logo
"HCT is Nightmare. Please don't do it!"
Former Employee - Faculty Lecturer in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
I worked at HCT full-time (More than a year)
Pros
The cleaning staff were friendly
Cons
I taught for HCT at at KBZ Air College in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. New staff get bullied by old staff because they see them as a threat to their jobs. A poisonous, toxic atmosphere.
Advice to Management
Replace everyone there. They're totally incompetent.
SuedeO is happy to report the recent arrival of new ‘stories’ about HCT - and they ain’t fiction, I promise!
I’ll be publishing them very soon, so Watch This Space!
We also have listen some pros and cons:
Faculty hours were reduced to 30hrs/w. Nevertheless, due to 20h/week teaching load.
You are required to do invigilation on weekends for final exams and EM-SAT.
All faculty are upset and not happy with their work environment.
HCT has key performance indicators (KPI) implemented across all departments.
I believe HCT will eventually implode if it has not done so already.
English coordinator KBZAC is fired
Anybody got some further info on the above?
I left HCT last year and they have not honored their contracts. End of service was cut, annual leave not paid and yearly bonus not paid. An environment full of crooks and liars and others who are too weak to stand up for basic human rights of their colleagues. Keep your jobs. We are doing okay in better working environments where we enjoy respect and happiness. Your college is failing and your students are cheats preparing to replace you when you retire.
Please send me more info on your terrible treatment, and we can make a whole blog entry of it. You can reach me on Suede.oasis@yahoo.com
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