New Courses coming November or December:

Mariculture (Marine Aquaculture)

Introduction to Javascript for the Web
RHS Certificate III in Landscaping

Major Revision and Expanded Notes in the following:

Bonsai
Tissue Culture
Animal Husbandry II
Australian Natives I
Flash

Our Most popular courses in the UK over the past month have been:

Certificate in Animal Health, Certificate in Wildlife Management, Life Coaching, Certificate in Horticulture (Permaculture), Horticulture I, Animal Health Care, Certificate in Agriculture, Herb Culture, Permaculture Systems.

ACS would like to congratulate the following students, who have recently completed courses with ACS:

Christine Thomas-Govan graduated with a Diploma in Counselling & Psychology
Craig McKim graduated with an Associate Diploma in Food & Nutrition

ACS staff would like to wish our graduates all the best for the future.

"In my experience, qualifications help to get an interview, but contrary to what many students think, it is not the qualification, but rather what you learn from studying that is usually the thing that gets you a job or promotion.
I have given over 1,000 degree graduates jobs throughout my career. I currently employ around 40 with degrees (in both Australia and the UK). The importance of having a degree might account for 10% -other things are far more important such as their knowledge, skills, ability to problem solve, communication skills, networking, attitude, -even speed of thinking and working.
It is interesting to ask a job applicant to stuff leaflets in envelopes... some with no degree are neat and fast, some with degrees are clumsy and unbelievably slow. A few months after employing them I have commonly found the 'slow envelope stuffers' are less focussed, less likely to retain instructions and much less productive at work -and this has no correlation to having a degree or not.
There is an underlying bias toward the importance of a degree in Western society; but when you look beneath the surface, much of that importance is overstated.Wise employers know this - but plenty of big businesses fail - so obviously not all employers are necessarily that wise." - John Mason, Principal, ACS Distance Education.

If you want to advance your career, joining a professional association is sometimes just as important as doing a course.
When you get involved, you develop relationships with important industry people that can help you develop business or get a job. You find out about technical advances, new services and equipment, and your knowledge stays fresh.
If you are not involved and you want the BEST CHANCE OF SUCCESS… look at the organisations recommended by our staff and join one.
See: http://www.acs.edu.au/about-us/professional-and-industry-organisations.aspx

Principal John Mason has been accepted as a Full Member of the Garden Media Guild (UK)
See www.gardenmediaguild.co.uk for more information.

IBIS Consulting predicts Organic Farming is to be the number one growth industry in Australia over the coming year. Applicable courses: Organic Farming, Commercial Organic Vegetable Production
European experts predict that Mariculture will be a major growth industry in the primary production sector. Applicable course: Mariculture
Government Employment is being cut 20% in the UK – where will the unemployed find work? A sensible answer must be small business. Applicable courses: Starting a Small Business, Bookkeeping I

Stay up with trends and build your networking by joining us on Facebook and Twitter:
ACS Distance Education general group on Facebook (click here to join)
ACS Distance Education on Twitter (click here to join)

Craig Ledbury undertook a course with ACS to build on study he had already completed at TAFE. He found the flexibility of study and depth of material covered with ACS valuable, and was able to balance his full time job with professional development. Here's what he had to say about his time with ACS:

"The structure of study at ACS was perfect for someone as myself working full time yet desiring to further broaden my knowledge of turf/horticulture, whilst being free to study at my own pace and time.

Most course providers are not flexible for full time workers. With ACS I was able to study at my own pace allowing me to put into practise and thoroughly research the subject matter broadening my knowledge and study experience further.

The course went beyond my expectations due to previous study experiences that required deadlines and timetables that had to be met.

A big thank you to (tutor) Gavin Cole and all at ACS. It was a pleasure to study with ACS, look forward to further study." - Craig Ledbury, Turf Repair & Renovation.

We’ve added three new photo folders – staff photos, carnivorous plant photos, and bonsai photos.
Join us on Facebook and see: Click here to join.

See our freshly re-launched www.acsbookshop.com site!
The titles offered through the bookshop have all been selected by our tutors as being excellent references to supplement studies in our courses.

ACS has increased fees by a small percentage (3%), but if you would like to avoid this increase, you can still enrol at the old prices for the next 7 days! Email us or call us today.