As education consultants in the ever-expanding world of global mobility and relocation, Bennett's team consistently works closely with and alongside Destination Service Provider (DSP) networks, playing a key role among the several needed to support families with children that are preparing for an international move.
Specifically, our consultants determine the unique schooling needs for each child in a family and, applying their ground-level knowledge and familiarity with local schooling systems while working closely with the relocating family, find and make connections with the best-fit schools for each child. What many families moving corporately overlook is that most relocations are a two-way journey, and an inevitable repatriation (moving back home) can present unforeseen challenges - especially in the world of a child's ongoing education.
This Fall, while recently attending the Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium in Boston, Bennett CEO Elizabeth Sawyer met with Adam McWhirter, Managing Director for Maxxelli, one of China's largest DSPs. Adam hosts a weekly podcast called "Mobility Connect", and graciously invited Elizabeth to join him for an episode. The resulting conversation was insightful, thought-provoking, and highly recommended listening for any family with children preparing to move.
Within, Elizabeth discusses Bennett's role working symbiotically with DSPs, before she touches on the importance not only of assisting in the schools’ search for relocating families, but also in the repatriation of children back to their home countries following the end of an assignment. She goes on to provide insightful tips and advice for families relocating abroad, including specific preparations that should be taken before repatriation, and reveals the difficulties children may face when returning ‘home’.
She and Adam also discuss the richness of experience that comes with being a TCK ("Third Culture Kid" - those raised in and exposed to a variety of cultures other than their parents') and how even the most disrupting, uprooting experience can provide unique perspectives that can be beneficial in later life.