There are many people in Australia who
would like to continue their education to change their jobs, give themselves
better promotion prospects, and get started in an
industry or just purely for their own personal development and satisfaction.
Some people think that they have to physically attend an education location and
listen to lectures, make notes and so on. However it is far from a new idea to
be able to carry out studies through distance learning courses. Many years ago
these were entirely carried out via post, but now most are carried out through
the posting of course books and also interactive online activities.
In many cases it is because there is a
large distance between the physical locations of where someone lives and the
place where the course is held that will stop them from attending as there is
not only the course time that has to be accounted for but also travel to and
from the course location. There is also the cost of travel to be taken into
account as well. While some employers are sympathetic to the taking of
development courses and allow a part time release for study, for others it is
not practical. Distance education
courses remove all of these impediments as you can study at home and work your
study hours around you other commitments.
Some people think that a qualification
gained through distance learning is somehow inferior to one that has been
gained through attending a course in person. While this may have been true many
years ago, now distance education courses are just as valid as taught courses
and the qualifications that are gained through distance learning are recognised
across Australia. In fact many of the courses on offer are supported by some of
Australia’s top universities.
There are a range of facilities that you
will have access to as part of your distance education experience. One of these
is a place to get together online with other people from your course so that
you can discuss elements of the course and help each other out. You will also
have a tutor for your course that you will have regular contact with to ensure
that any problems or questions you have are dealt with.
The validity of many courses is further
backed up by the fact that they are accredited by national regulatory bodies.
One example of this is the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers that has
accredited several of the finance and bookkeeping courses. This also gives you
the advantage of being able to become a student member of an institute to take
advantage of magazines, conferences and other events that may provide you with
contacts or job opportunities.