Secretarial

YOU HAVE FINISHED SCHOOL. NOW WHAT?

You have finished school, partied and enjoyed a couple of months holiday. What now?

You look for a job, but few employers want to employ you without experience, but you cannot get experience without a job. It’s a lose-lose situation.

One option is to further your studies in the occupational field of your choice. However, after sitting in lecture rooms for 6 or 12 months twiddling your thumbs, you still don’t have actual experience in the subjects for which you have studied.

One solution is to study at Academy of Learning where most courses are “hands on” or theory and practical. This means that you acquire “experience” from day one. It means that you have to actually do that which you are studying. For example, if you are studying word processing level 1, you will actually be using the word processing computer program at the start of your course (courses are also known as “programs” nowadays – confusing?).

Our unique Integrated LearningTM System is an exercise-based method in which each new step builds upon those already mastered.

Audio instructions are used to explain concepts, guide students through some initial skill-based applications, and provide an opportunity to practise additional applications that are featured in the course workbook. CD’s are customised to keep pace with each book.

Lessons are presented in two-hour modules, which build level-by-level, so that students achieve competence and confidence as each one is mastered.

As students are not reliant on lecturers or set timetables or classes, they can commence with their qualifications at any time during the year.

At this stage, it might be advisable to clarify the difference between studying at school, adult training and development:

Education is the range of activities aimed at developing moral values and understanding.  The purpose of education is to develop students intellectually and to provide them with the base for further learning.  Education is the basic knowledge rather than the applied skills and it has little implication to a specific job.  Education is received at schools and universities and it is of value throughout life. A couple of important aspects of education are that it is generally one-way communication, from teacher to student. This means that you merely sit and listen, with little feedback to the teacher. Secondly, there is no motivation for the student—you go to school, or else!

Training is a deliberate effort to teach specific skills, knowledge and attitudes to serve a specific purpose.  The purpose of training is to enable the learner to apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes (“competency”) in order to achieve the objectives of the organisation.  Training should result in the trainee’s ability to do the job better. You will notice the words “deliberate” and “specific skills”. This is different to education. In training, you are trained “specifically” in a certain skill required for an occupation. Another reason why training is different to education is that the communication is two-way (lecturer or computer/audio-visual to student and vice versa). Training differs from education as motivation already exists, as the student decided which course (program) to study and paid for it (or was it the parents?).

Development is more specific than education.  It is the process whereby people gain experience/knowledge, skills and attitudes (“competency”) to become (or remain) successful within their organisations.  It refers more to the development of the whole person rather than the training of specific skills to perform a single task. Development also entails two-way communication between employee and lecturer/senior staff member and vice-versa.

To summarise, education is usually carried out at school, training at a college after high school and development during employment.

Career courses offered include Information Technology, General Business, Secretarial, Tourism and Management.

Academy of Learning

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