Times Education

What Times Education does

Time Education Inc., formerly Time College, is a privately held, in-person tutoring company founded in 1995 by principal Alex Tang (唐老师) and headquartered in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. The company operates five physical campuses — Richmond Yaohan Centre, Richmond Parker Place, Richmond Parker Place II, Vancouver West (Granville Street), Burnaby Metrotown, and South Surrey White Rock — delivering small-group classes capped at five students per class and one-on-one VIP tutoring. Its service portfolio spans K-12 tutoring in all subjects (including AP/IB), ESL fast-track classes for new immigrants, standardized exam preparation (IELTS, TOEFL, SAT, SSAT, GRE, LPI, ACT, CELPIP), first- and second-year university course tutoring, Ivy League and Canadian university application consulting, and visa/immigration services for international students. It also operates as an official IELTS Information and Registration Centre for Conestoga College, processing IELTS test registrations at $299-$309 CAD per test.

The company generates revenue through tuition fees charged on a per-course or per-session basis across its service lines; pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by class format, course intensity, and programme duration. Customer acquisition is primarily driven by free educational seminars (时代讲堂) hosted across campuses, a 128-article content blog (时代园地), community word-of-mouth within the Greater Vancouver Chinese-immigrant community, and walk-in traffic from its IELTS test centre. The faculty is composed of licensed BC public school teachers, UBC and SFU professors, and credentialed instructors from institutions including Yale, Swarthmore, and Cambridge, all personally selected by the principal. The company claims a 100% university entrance rate for students who pursued admission, with named admits to Princeton, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UBC, SFU, and University of Toronto.

The business model is that of a small-group professional services firm: no proprietary software, no online course delivery platform, no mobile app, and no disclosed technology stack beyond a standard WordPress-based marketing website. Operations are entirely classroom-based and regional. The company is founder-owned, with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or funding rounds, and remains privately held with no public ticker. The website indicates operating status as of 2017-2018 copyright dates, with no more recent activity reflected in the source data.

Name

Times Education

Legal name

Time Education Inc.

Website

https://timeeducation.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Time Education Inc. is a privately held, in-person tutoring company operating five campuses across Greater Vancouver, BC. It serves K-12 students, international/immigrant families, university students, and adult learners with small-group classes, one-on-one tutoring, exam preparation, and university application consulting, and operates as an official IELTS test registration centre for Conestoga College.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Tutoring Services

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Language Schools (611630)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Language Proficiency Exam Prep (CEFR, TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, PTE) (EDANACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Standardized Assessments & Benchmark Exams Prep (State tests, MAP, ISEE/SSAT) (EDANABAD), K-12 & School-Based Language Exam Prep (AP, IB, IGCSE/A-Levels) (EDANACAE), AP Course Tutoring (AP-specific subjects) (EDANAKAA), Homework Tutoring & Academic Support (Subject Tutoring) (HSAAAHAC)

Keywords

• Private tutoring services
• K-12 academic tutoring
• IELTS test preparation
• University application consulting
• ESL language training

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tutoring and Course Fees: Time Education generates revenue through tuition fees charged for its tutoring and course programmes. Services include small-group classes (max 5 students per class), one-on-one VIP tutoring, exam preparation courses (IELTS, SAT, SSAT, GRE), school subject tutoring (K-12 all subjects, AP/IB), ESL upgrading, university application consulting, and adult English courses. The company operates on a per-course or per-session fee model. They also charge for IELTS test registration as an official Conestoga College IELTS centre (test fee $299–$309 CAD including HST).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Time Education is a small-group and one-on-one in-person tutoring company operating five campuses across Greater Vancouver. It delivers K-12 academic tutoring (math, physics, chemistry, English), ESL rapid advancement classes, standardized exam preparation (IELTS, SAT, SSAT, GRE, TOEFL, LPI, ACT, CELPIP), AP/IB coursework, first and second-year university course tutoring, university application consulting for Ivy League and Canadian universities, visa and immigration services, and adult English instruction. It also operates as an official IELTS Information and Registration Centre for Conestoga College, processing test registrations on behalf of test takers.

Product overview

Time Education is a small-group/one-on-one tutoring company with five locations across Greater Vancouver (Richmond, Vancouver West, Burnaby, and South Surrey). The company offers a comprehensive suite of academic tutoring services spanning from elementary school through university preparation, including exam preparation (IELTS, SAT, SSAT, GRE), K-12 all subjects (math, physics, chemistry, English), ESL programs, AP/IB courses, university application consulting, visa/immigration services, and adult education. The core offerings include High School Math/Physics/Chemistry tutoring, IELTS preparation, SAT/SSAT test prep, ESL rapid advancement courses, university application services, and university-level course tutoring. The company also operates as an official IELTS registration centre for Conestoga College.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High School Math, Physics & Chemistry Tutoring (高中數理化) Tutoring for grades 3-12 covering mathematics, physics, chemistry, and calculus including AP/IB exam preparation, taught by Dr. Tang and UBC physics professors with innovative use of Mainland Chinese textbooks in English. Targeted at high school students seeking strong STEM foundations for university entrance.
• IELTS Preparation

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of students seeking university admission were accepted
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Conestoga College (IELTS Test Centre)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTime Education is designated as an official IELTS Information and Registration Centre for Conestoga College, which is Canada's first Official IELTS Test Centre. This partnership allows Time Education to process IELTS test registrations, collect test fees ($299–$309 CAD), and serve as a test date information hub. The partnership attracts IELTS candidates who may subsequently enrol in Time Education's IELTS preparation courses.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ivy Global: Vancouver-based test prep and admissions consulting firm offering SAT, ACT, SSAT, ISEE, GRE, GMAT, AP, and IELTS prep plus Ivy League admissions coaching. Direct geographic and product overlap with Time Education's exam-prep and university-application consulting business in the same Greater Vancouver market.
• Oxford Learning Centres: Canadian tutoring franchise offering small-group and one-on-one K-12 academic tutoring, study skills, and exam prep with multiple locations across Canada. Highly comparable multi-campus, in-person tutoring model serving local families with similar subject and age range as Time Education.
• Tutor Doctor: Canadian-headquartered in-home and in-center tutoring franchise serving K-12 and adult learners across North America. Comparable one-on-one tutoring model and Canadian geographic footprint with similar subject-matter breadth (math, sciences, English, test prep).
• Prep Academy Tutoring: Canadian tutoring company providing in-home and online one-on-one tutoring across K-12 subjects, French, ESL, and standardized test prep. Comparable Canadian-focused, personalized-tutoring service mix and K-12 subject breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Kaplan Test Prep: Global test-prep and education provider offering SAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, USMLE, IELTS, and TOEFL preparation along with college and graduate admissions consulting. Comparable product overlap on standardized and language proficiency exams, though at much larger scale.
• New Oriental Education & Technology Group (新东方): China-founded education conglomerate offering K-12 tutoring, language test prep (IELTS/TOEFL/SAT/GRE), overseas study consulting, and visa services with operations in Greater Vancouver. Directly competes with Time Education on the same Chinese-immigrant customer base and exam-prep product set, but at vastly greater scale.
• Kumon: Global supplemental education franchise focused on math and reading worksheets with thousands of centres across Canada. Comparable franchise-style, multi-location K-12 academic tutoring model, though narrower subject focus than Time Education's full K-12 + exam-prep stack.
• The Princeton Review: Major US-headquartered test-prep company offering SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT prep plus college admissions tutoring and online courses. Direct overlap on SAT/SSAT/GRE prep and Ivy League admissions consulting product lines.
• Sylvan Learning: Established North American tutoring franchise offering K-12 academic tutoring, STEM, and standardized test prep (SAT/ACT) across franchised learning centres. Comparable multi-subject, in-person tutoring model, though broader demographic focus and significantly larger scale than Time Education.

Regional players

• CCEL Canadian College of English Language: Vancouver-based private English-language school serving international students with ESL programs, IELTS/TOEFL prep, and pathway programs. Same Greater Vancouver geography and overlapping adult/learner English-language customer base, though more focused on ESL than K-12 tutoring.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Times Education