Training | feuerstein

Trainings in NZ

The Charity has ceased to support Feuerstein, due to significant lack in integrity displayed at the January 2017 trainings - all trainees paid the $250 each for course materials, were only given 20% of the materials and are still not certificated.

The Trustees, Sir Pat Lynch, Lady Sheila Graham and the charity's Capability Partners Deloitte (auditors), Bentleys (accountants) and Greenwood Roche (lawyers) have directed the charity to cease all dealings with Feuerstein and their commercial arm - FIE.

Background:

50+ trainings have been delivered over the past years - at substantial financial loss of $800,000 to Anne and David Gaze who delivered all labour, support and funding pro bono. Israel demanded a $10,000 payment for each class delivered in NZ and with repeated requests to be charged the US150 per person afforded other countries, this rate was only approved recently when the personal funding from the Gazes was exhausted and the charity could not afford to deliver further trainings for circa two years.

Future Trainings

There will be a Feuerstein training in Otago in 2019, delivered by Melbourne's head trainer, Genia Janover - we recommend working with Australia's Feuerstein trainers going forward; they delivered the charity's January 2017 training and feedback was excellent. Securing Melbourne's trainers to deliver a training in NZ is facilitated by emailing FIE direct with request.

Feedback and reviews have Melbourne as our recommendation - they continue to deliver trainings lead by excellent trainers:

https://www.is.vic.edu.au/professional-learning/program-showcases/feuerstein/feuerstein-landing-page

Resources-Material

We have resources free-of-charge (from schools no longer delivering) and welcome the opportunity to forward this surplus material to you. Email info@campuslink.org

2014 - 2018 Training Cost Overview

All 5-day trainings were at $1100 plus GST= $1,265 - including the $250 pp for all Teacher Manuals/resource materials needed for trainings (Israel's printing charge). 82.6% of all trainees could not pay the $1100 plus GST and their costs were underwritten by the Gazes.

We were dedicated to keeping the cost of the training at the lowest possible bar. Elsewhere, the same trainings have been as high as circa $4,500+, but lack of overheads due to our huge pro bono commitments - no salaries, we worked from home studies, had no leased premises etc - these trainings were available at the least possible cost to ensure as many as possible could attend.

We ensured one of the following was available:

kitchenette facilities or
on-site cafe availability or
cafe van to the site

Training costs (25:1):

$

10,000 Course fee of €6,000 - paid to FIE (exchange-rate determined, was a high of $14k and a low as $9,400)

5,000 Trainer air-travel (was as high as $6,000, as low as $4,500)

1,750 Trainer accommodation at $250 per night, 7 nights

5,250 Resources at $250 pp plus GST ( for a Teacher Manual for each 'instrument' taught +-5 per course)

700 Trainer food and incidentals ($100 per day/night)

0 Labour, admin., roomhire, cleaning toilets, mailchimp, web, postage, xtra printing, after/morn tea

(Classroom charges were at the discretion of the school and were determined on a case-by-case basis)

$22,700 = 20.6 persons paying $1100 (GST and all variable costs excluded)

To deliver a training on a 25:1 basis that covers fixed and variable costs (excluding hours of pro bono work involved) historical evidence was $31,345 per training - a $4000 deficit each course, even if we had 25 fully paying trainees and Anne Gaze continued to donate multiple hours in admin and organizing. The average fully-paying attendee was just 0-7 per training.

We did deliver a Domestic Trainer (Standard) in July 2016 - this training had 17 paid-up-in-full and FIE discounted their commission structure as a one-off gesture, but we were still exposed to:

$

5,400 FIE annual fee (US$4000)

0 Air-travel

0 Trainer Accommodation

4,250 Resources at $250 plus GST per person

0 Trainer food and incidentals

       0       Room hire
2,500       Trainer Fee
2,627       pp fee - US$110 charge per trainee to Israel
3,430       Certificates at US$150 pp

$18,207   = 16.55 persons paying $1100 (GST excluded, just to break-even on fixed costs, variables, voluntary hours etc excluded)

Whichever way we juggled, without the significant philanthropic funds donated by David Gaze, we could not meet the fixed costs, nor pay variable expenses, including huge pro bono hours championing the programme, occupation costs (volunteers ran from home studies), website, couriers/postage, mailchimp, payment pathway costs, courier costs and labour costs or costs to individually send out each certificate etc.