“If you believe you can, you can!”

Samantha studied the Certificate in Bookkeeping with us and we asked her a few questions.

Samatha Priday – Certificate in Bookkeeping

Tell me a little bit about yourself…

I am a single mother of two and I am currently working as an Office Manager in Wellington. I am very committed to furthering my own career and utilising the skills I have learned to make an impact in my industry.

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

I heard about The Career Academy through the Bookkeepers Association.

What course did you study?

I studied the Certificate of Bookkeeping.

How has your course helped you with your career/employment/work?

I was previously doing volunteer work and the course at The Career Academy allowed me to transition to working in my desired field. The course was extremely straightforward and gave me a great foundation to pursue my goal of opening my own business.

What did you enjoy the most about studying at The Career Academy?

I really enjoyed that I could complete the course at my own pace from the comfort of my own home. As a single mum who is opening her own business, it is essential that I have flexibility when studying and the career academy provided me with this.
 
I also found the student discussion board resource extremely helpful as it provided engagement with a community of students working towards similar goals.

What is your biggest achievement…what are you most proud of?

My biggest achievement has been completing the Certificate in Bookkeeping through The Career Academy. My time at The Career Academy has given me the confidence to work towards opening my own business and pursuing further study at The Career Academy.

What is your life motto?

If you believe you can, you can!

The post Samantha’s story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Nicky’s story

“My tutor was fantastic!”

Nicky studied the Diploma in Management and Team Leadership with us and we asked her a few questions.

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

I was searching for some exiting courses to do, but also knew that financially I would not be able to afford studying without paying it off. Therefore, when I found Career Academy I also found what I was interested in studying as well as the ability to pay while studying.

Why did you choose your The Career Academy course?

I chose to study Management, as I had no idea what it was all about and it was a new challenge for me and kept my mind active and motivated.  I particularly enjoyed HR and personnel management and would not have minded doing a diploma or even a high degree in HR and personnel management.

How did you find the tutor and student services support throughout your time with us?

My tutor (Dinithi) was fantastic. The motivation and praise was all you needed to continue the next assessment/assignment. Positive and encouraging words are extremely helpful when you feeling isolated and it reassures you that you are on the right track.

Have you been able to make use of the information studied and learnt in your course? If so, how?

I have found that the management diploma, HR, and Personnel management Certificate has helped me with my counselling clients as I work for EAP providers. Work place issues is one of the biggest factors that I have come across in counselling, particularly bullying in the work place and with my certificate in HR and personnel management I am able to emotionally assist my clients work through there difficult time.

What’s your next step now you’ve graduated? What are you up to now?

If there was a diploma or even a higher education to obtain in HR and Personnel management I would certainly be interested in this. However, for now, I have recently started my own private counselling practice on Fridays. Having some, knowledge in Management has surely helped me a great deal; however I still feel I need more skills when it comes to finances and Excel. This might be next on my list.

The post Nicky’s story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Julie’s story

“I never stop learning”!

Julie studies the Diploma in Psychology and Counselling with us and we asked her a few questions.

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

Online. I was just surfing the net and you sounded wonderful!!

Why did you choose your The Career Academy course?

I wanted to do an online course as I am working and it needed to fit into an already busy life.

How did you find the tutor and student services support throughout your time with us?

Both the tutors and student services were just excellent and I knew that my queries would be answered in a timely manner and professionally. If the staff were not sure about my question they would always check to make sure all was well.

Have you been able to make use of the information studied and learnt in your course? If so, how?

I have been and am currently counselling mostly adults with Asperger Syndrome which is endlessly interesting/challenging and stretches my mind.

What’s your next step now you’ve graduated? What are you up to now?

I use the skills I have learned every day I work with the wonderful clients we encounter. People are so fascinating and helping them learn about themselves and find ways to make their lives more fulfilled is brilliant. I never stop learning.

The post Julie’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Joanne’s story

A future Master Practicioner of Coaching!

We sat down with Joanne Hewlett and a had a brief chat about her studies with The Career Academy

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

I was living in a very small town and could only study online so I googled the kind of study I wanted to do and The Career Academy popped up.

Why did you choose your The Career Academy course?

I chose the course, Diploma of Psychology and Counselling at The Career Academy as it was exactly what I was looking for and wanted to do.

How did you find the tutor and student services support throughout your time with us?

The tutors gave me nothing but encouragement and praise and constructive criticism where it was needed which helped me learn and grow as the course went on. I also knew that if needed I could reach out to other students doing the same course for tips or advice as the support was there.

Have you been able to make use of the information studied and learnt in your course? If so, how?

On finishing my course I have now started another course with The Career Academy studying Child and Adolescent Psychological Development to further my education, knowledge and ability to start implementing why I wanted to study these courses in the first place.

What’s your next step now you’ve graduated? What are you up to now?

My next step and what I am doing now is also training to become a Credentialed Master Practitioner of Coaching.

All this has come from an idea I had to open up, which plans are in process, a community based bicycle workshop and give kids and adolescents a safe place to come to and learn a skill as well as develop their creativity, give them guidance and direction and help them on their journey in life.

The Career Academy has kick started this journey for me and I will be forever grateful for their encouragement and belief in me.

The post Joanne’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Amali’s’s story

Amali’s furray into Psychology and Counselling with The Career Academy

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

I saw an advert on Facebook and called the number

Why did you choose your The Career Academy course?

• Initially I took on the Diploma in Psychology and Counselling as I saw it as a way of helping me be a better People leader.
• It gave me an opportunity to see if Psychology was just an interest for me or something deeper that I would want to pursue more fully.
• The ability to study online and in my own time was really appealing and enabled me to complete the course within just a few months which was great.
• In comparison to other providers this was a more affordable option.

How did you find the tutor and student services support throughout your time with us?

The tutors and student services were always friendly and helpful to deal with

Have you been able to make use of the information studied and learnt in your course? If so, how?

I haven’t been able to use this information in a work sense as yet being that I choose to leave my previous employer a few months ago.  However, the developmental insights learned via Psychology and the Counselling techniques within the course have been really useful in understanding and better dealing with my 6 year old son.

What’s your next step now you’ve graduated? What are you up to now?

The course really sparked a huge connection with me for furthering Psychology which I never knew I had.  I also was able to attend 2 days of the Psychology Society conference due to receiving The Career Academy Top of Class award.  This was 2 days of total geeking out on a fabulous event.  I loved every minute of the event and this has made me want to further my education even more.  At this point I am still trying to work out how I go about doing this.

The post Amali’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Hayden’s story

Hayden’s studying with The Career Academy has helped them set future goals

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

Due to unforeseen injuries through working I had the hard choice to redirect my skills. In doing so I needed to gain some new skills and the direction I would like to go in the future would be towards the animal side of things as that’s where I feel my passion is held. Since I have never studied before, I started searching the internet and found that the career academy was world widely known. I had tried calling a few different places and the only ones that returned my calls was the career academy, they were helpful at giving me a path way to begin my study.

Why did you choose your The Career Academy course?

I think what helped me make the choice to study under the career academy was the easy signing up to get started and the payment plan set ups, the process in getting started was not stressful.

How did you find the tutor and student services support throughout your time with us?

The service provided was to a high standard and I found the tutors very helpful and easy to understand.

Have you been able to make use of the information studied and learnt in your course? If so, how?

At this stage the courses are a big stepping stone towards a future in vet nursing for me, I feel like I’ve learnt so much from the courses I chose, and it has made me feel like I will have a future working with animals.

What’s your next step now you’ve graduated? What are you up to now?

I began by studying the course on animal health care, which I loved because of my passion and life has been all about animals. This course gave me a good insight to how to study and how I learn, my aim in the long term is to study vet nursing and this course showed me about a lot of what to be ready for.

After I passed that course I started the business administration course with the career academy because I felt that with the rise of technology and computer skills this would really challenge my ability to learn skills outside of my comfort zone as well as skills that might be needed if working in a vet clinic. At the Graduation event I was surprised and lucky that I got a Endeavor award for outstanding dedication in administration, and even more surprised that I got funding towards another course. I’m currently doing the diploma in dog care and dog grooming, and really enjoying it. My plans next year is to try get into animal welfare and then vet nursing.

The post Hayden’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Hiromi’s story

A mum starting a new career!

We sat down with Hiromi and a had a brief chat about her studies with The Career Academy

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

I’m Hiromi, born and raised in Auckland, NZ (after a short stint in Rarotonga). My family and I moved back to Auckland before I started school. I went on to complete a Bachelor of Education at Auckland University and was an educator within an early childcare centre for over three years. I moved to London in 2010 and did a couple of years teaching and nannying. After having a couple of kids of my own, I decided I wanted a career change and had a general interest in Bookkeeping.

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

My Mum referred me on to The Career Academy as she had done some freelance work for the company and knew about the different courses on offer.

What course did you study?

I completed the Certificate in Bookkeeping. This course was good, I liked being able to do the entire course at home, my daughter was only 10 weeks at the time, so I appreciated having the flexibility to study within my own pace. I could choose which days I wanted to commit to study – so I was able to balance study with my personal life.

How did you hear about the vacancy at The Back Office Company?

I received an email from the Career Centre which had information about the role and instructions on how to apply. I applied for the role and also emailed the Career Centre – a Career Coach gave me a call to discuss the role in further detail.

You got the job! Congratulations! How are you enjoying your role at The Back Office Company?

Thank you! It’s going really well, there has been lots of training and mentoring (once a week) and I am really enjoying the challenge of something new. I am able to establish a new career around the kids and it fits in really well with family life. A new challenge is always good! I really appreciate the support from The Back Office Company – they have really helped me progress into this role and without the support it wouldn’t be possible for me to do this role.

What do you do in your downtime?

My life is centred around the kids, I love being a Mum and spending time with kids is really important to me.

Thanks for your time today Hiromi – all the best with your new career at The Back Office Company!

The post Hiromi’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Nikki’s story

“The team at The Career Academy really know how to support and guide people towards their goals.”

Accounting Technician during the weekdays,
Rally driver in the weekend!

Nikki is a former student of The Career Academy who has successfully completed a Certificate in Payroll Administration and a Certificate in Accounting, as well as a Diploma in Accounting. The Career Academy gave her the opportunity to further her professional development by means of the support and guidance to achieve the Accounting Technician designation and full membership with The Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

She is now a fully qualified Accounting Technician and works at Robinson Interiors, whom provide interior fit outs for super yachts. Her role involves daily office management, PA to the CEO as well as performing the main financial functions for the business.

Nikki was also asked to be an Accounting tutor at The Career Academy and loved the role as it enabled her to focus on helping people along their higher education pathways. “The team at The Career Academy really know how to support and guide people towards their goals,” she says. Prior to joining The Career Academy team, Nikki worked primarily in admin roles, notably as PA to the MD of a well-known family wine business.

Banner: Nikki’s  Accounting Technician Certificate of Achievement.

Nikki was her Dad’s co-driver for many years. Now she has her own car and can focus on Rallying. When she’s not straightening the curves, she is enjoying time with her son, husband, and Husky Chey.

Below: Nikki tearing up the gravel co-driving with her Dad.

The post Nikki’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Janet’s story

A Stay at Home Mum with Aspirations to Work with Animals!

We sat down with Janet and a had a brief chat about her studies with The Career Academy

Tell me a little bit about yourself…

I am Janet, a stay at home mum. A friend of mine offered for me to come work with her in her dog grooming salon but recommended that I do some study first. So I enrolled into The Career Academy and have been doing some work experience every Tuesday at my friend’s dog grooming salon here in WA.

How did you hear about The Career Academy?

I just jumped on Google and searched for dog grooming courses, it came up with a training course website and it linked me over to The Career Academy.

What course are you studying?

Advanced Certificate in Dog Grooming. I am on my last certificate, so not long to go until I have completed the course. It’s a great course, very informative and I do feel like I am learning heaps.

How has your course helped you with your current career/employment/work? 

It’s helped me understand the industry better and expand my existing knowledge about different dog breeds, coats and skin conditions. It’s also helping me to learn what to do and what not to do when working closely with dogs. Every dog is different and it can be a challenge

What is your biggest achievement…what are you most proud of?

Being able to find a career, I feel like I have found my passion. I’ve gone from working in a pathology office to know hanging out with some super cute dogs!

What do you hope to achieve at the end of your study?

I hope to be a more experienced groomer. Once I finish my studies, I will be able to be employed at my friends business and help her expand her business by offering mobile grooming options.

What do you do in your downtime?

I don’t get a lot of downtime, being a parent of a cheeky three year old daughter! I am a big fan of Anime though and try to squeeze in an episode here and there!

What is your life motto?

Just wing it!

Thanks for your time today Janet – all the best with completing your course and your soon to be – new career in Dog Grooming! We wish you well!

The post Janet’s Story appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.

Network support

Strong social networks make life easier and happier!

Often when you’re feeling overwhelmed by work, study, family commitments and life in general, you cut yourself off and hunker down, thinking that any social interactions take time away from what you should be getting on with. The truth is socialising is an invaluable tool for stress relief and is vital to your wellbeing.

Studies show people with strong social networks are generally happier with greater job performance and leadership skills.

When your schedule seems so tight, it feels impossible to spare half an hour to meet a friend for coffee, it’s probably even more important to take the time to reach out. 

Tips for creating a strong support network

• Commit to at least one social engagement per week. It could be simply coffee with a friend or spending time with a special interest club.
• Make use of technology. Face-to-face interactions are best but staying connected with your support network through emails, texts and social media, is a useful way of staying present in a relationship, especially if you are far away.
• Follow your interests. Sign up for a class, join a club or volunteer your time. Even if you don’t make new friends instantly, connecting with like-minded people will inspire you.
• Make use of our online study groups to connect and network with other students completing the same course as you.
• Not everyone has one special friend they can confide in. Look at different relationships for different kinds of support. Perhaps you have a work colleague you can talk to about work problems or another school mum to chat to about your kids.
• Don’t wait for others to reach out , it’s ok to ask for help, no matter how awkward it feels.
• Be there for your family and friends even if just to say hello. If you are there for others, they’ll be more likely to be there for you.
• If you’re suddenly faced with a particularly stressful situation, for example a chronically ill family member, seek out support groups. You’ll find relief in talking to and sharing with people going through similar circumstances as you.
• If you lack a strong support network, there are many organisations you can turn to. Community centres, Citizen Advice Bureau, and refugee and immigrant groups may be able to help you identify and connect with specific support groups. The Australian Government website has some useful information for immigrants or simply google specific support groups.

Tips for creating a strong support network

• Commit to at least one social engagement per week. It could be simply coffee with a friend or spending time with a special interest club.
• Make use of technology. Face-to-face interactions are best but staying connected with your support network through emails, texts and social media, is a useful way of staying present in a relationship, especially if you are far away.
• Follow your interests. Sign up for a class, join a club or volunteer your time. Even if you don’t make new friends instantly, connecting with like-minded people will inspire you.
• Make use of our online study groups to connect and network with other students completing the same course as you.
• Not everyone has one special friend they can confide in. Look at different relationships for different kinds of support. Perhaps you have a work colleague you can talk to about work problems or another school mum to chat to about your kids.
• Don’t wait for others to reach out , it’s ok to ask for help, no matter how awkward it feels.
• Be there for your family and friends even if just to say hello. If you are there for others, they’ll be more likely to be there for you.
• If you’re suddenly faced with a particularly stressful situation, for example a chronically ill family member, seek out support groups. You’ll find relief in talking to and sharing with people going through similar circumstances as you.
• If you lack a strong support network, there are many organisations you can turn to. Community centres, Citizen Advice Bureau, and refugee and immigrant groups may be able to help you identify and connect with specific support groups. The Australian Government website has some useful information for immigrants or simply google specific support groups.

The post A strong social network is essential! appeared first on Online Courses Australia with Certificates | Career Academy.