Australian Business Academy

Edition #12 Voice - Sports Event

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:11:00 GMT

ABA Sports Event

Over the past few months the Parramatta Sports Management students have conducted various fundraising ventures including pancake days, movie nights and chocolate sales aimed at raising money for Father Chris Riley's "Youth off the Streets" Charity as well as financially supporting the main event; a basketball tournament 'Hoops For Youth' which was held on Friday 28th May 2010 attracting over 40 players and many more spectators. The night had a positive and friendly atmosphere, and was won by local students from the Liverpool Area, who thanks to the kind donations we received from various businesses walked away with prizes and medals.

From an event management point of view the event was successful. As a team we all came together and worked well to produce a well run event. Problems we encountered on the night were easily and swiftly sorted, which supports the high level of ability to adapt and knowledge of the event and event management theory provided by our Learning Facilitator Peta Eggleton. We are very proud to say we attained crucial sponsors for our event; Michael Wenden Aquatic Centre who kindly gave us the venue and access to all their facilities at cost price, Parramatta Eels who chipped in with merchandise and Oakhill Meats and Joe's Meat who generously donated sausages for our sausage sizzle.

Over the semester of fundraising and our major event we were able to raise and present our charity with a cheque for $700, creating a significant impact for "Youth off the Streets" aim of bettering the lives of disadvantaged youth.

We learnt many invaluable lessons from our first event and plan to better it this semester, so keep posted for details - it's going to be bigger and better!

By: Dani-Elle Levy

Also in this edition...

Media Room

15 Seconds of Fame

How to...

Key Dates and Coming Events

Sports Management Event

Media Room

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:24:00 GMT

Media Room

This month you will find a range of pictures which are displayed below:

Just run your mouse over the piece of media you want to open below and click on it to open into a bigger window.

Stay tuned next month for more pictures, video and audio from around the ABA campuses...

Also in this edition...
Media Room

15 Seconds of Fame

How to...

Key Dates and Coming Events

Sports Management Event

How to..

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:23:00 GMT

How to.. Supercharge your customer service skills

For this month's how to we look at an extract from "The Buzz - little things that make a difference in customer service" by David Freemantle. The extract takes us through how to use your eyes to engage people. This can be extremely useful, whether it be in a classroom or workplace environment.

Eyes are a vital conduit through which you reveal to a customer your soul, heart, and mind. When it comes to face-to-face contact with a customer, the eyes provide an important first connection. There is no avoiding the eyes if world class service is to be provided. Avoidance means one thing only - that you want to avoid the customer, that you don't want to deal with him or listen to her. It reveals that you have other things on your mind and that the customer in front of you is the least of your priorities.

When you look away from an approaching customer or don't even see them, there is only one conclusion: You would prefer that the customer not be there. Conversely, when customers avert their gaze it means they require no attention from you at that point - they want to be left alone. By making a connection with your eyes you assign each customer a degree of importance. You reveal that the focus of your attention is the person who has come to be served by you.

"In any face-to-face relationship with a customer the start point is always in the eyes".

However, it is not good enough simply to make eye contact. Each customer will see into your eyes and interpret your intentions. They will see your soul through your eyes and determine whether you are genuine or false, whether you are sincere or shifty, whether you are delighted to see them or just putting on an act because someone in training instructed you to smile at customers. Your eyes tell a customer as much as your words can. Your eyes will reveal whether or not you are hooked on what a customer is saying and equally whether you really mean what you are saying.

Through your eyes you can produce a glance, a stare, a smile, an inquisitive look, a knowing wink, a gesture of appreciation, a flicker of delight, a sparkle of surprise, a gleam of heart felt happiness, and a wide variety of microbehaviours, each will have a positive, negative or neutral impact on customers.

It is worth listing some of the idiomatic expressions in the English language to demonstrate the importance of eyes in relationships:

See eye to eye

Eye someone up

Give someone the eye

Eyes in the back of your head

Up to the eyes in

(I am) all eyes

An eye for a bargin

A twinkle in the eye

One in the eye for

An eye-opener

Close your eyes to

Have an eye for

Keep your eyes open

A roving eye

Eye-catching

Turn a blind eye

An eye for the ladies

All these reflect nuances in the way we use our eyes to connect with customers and provide subtle indicators of our intention in a relationship. Finessing the movement, focus, and expression of our eyes is therefore something crucial we need to do in creating buzz. The essential and underlying principle is that the resulting look must truly reflect our souls and what is in our hearts. Any other reading will be false. Many people are totally unaware of what is happening with their eyes and what they reveal to people at any given moment. Those who excel at "working their eyes" are those who excel at service and in creating buzz.

Practice
Conduct an eye test with those of your colleagues you really trust. Invite them to describe your eyes and then reprocate. Then practise working your eyes to reflect the positive spirit you have inside you.

Also in this edition...
Media Room

15 Seconds of Fame

How to...

Key Dates and Coming Events

Sports Management Event

15 Seconds of Fame

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:17:00 GMT

15 Seconds of Fame

Parramatta Campus - Michael Boutros

1. When I grow up I want to... Have a highly successful job in the marketing industry earning in the millions.

2. My first impressions of ABA were... It is a small environment which made it easier to communicate. I was confident in being successful and to achieve my goal in marketing as it was a strong impression that it would have high education standards.

3. My impressions of ABA now... It is a well respected and comfortable environment, lovely people and education is incredible, as LF's are kind and well knowledgeable in their subjects.

4. In the next 10 years I will... Be in a high paid marketing job. Be married to a beautiful and adventurous lady.

5. I wish I had... An extremely expensive car, luxury home and a big bag of money.

6. Coolest experience I've had was... Going to Hawaii and snorkeling with stingrays and sharks.

7. If I could be someone for a day I would be... My dad. He is a big impression on my life.

8. My family is... Lebanese, and are very loving and respectful people.

9. I'm best at... BASKETBALL

10. My friends always say I'm... Enjoyable, funny, Loud, courageous and adventurous.

Learning Facilitator - Cathy Vanderzwart

1. Before I die I will... Get Old.

2. The best thing about ABA Students is... Their Enthusiasm to Learn.

3. My funniest moment in class was... The student that had no friends but was able to get 70 people to come to her 21st.

4. I wish I'd never... Married my first husband.

5. As a child I was... Always smiling.

6. My parents always used to say... If you want to try it, give it a go.

7. My favourite place to get away from it all is... The garden.

8. If I was running the country, I would... Resign.

9. My most embarrassing moment was... Carrying a 20KG fish by its tail, while riding my push bike through deep puddles on a tropical island.

10. If I won lotto I would... Have daily retail therapy sessions.

Staff Member - Julian Bahamon

1. My first impressions of ABA were... A small but quite professional and homey place.

2. My impressions of ABA now are... A great place to learn while you have fun. In fact it can look small but when you get to know it, its full of experiences, vibrant stories and great individuals.

3. The thing I like about my job most is... The people I work with and the versatility. There's never a day similar to the previous one. There will always be surprises!

4. Something few people know about me is... I was a high school cheerleading team member. Anything to skip class. I also used to box for the Columbian national boxing squad.

5. At the weekend I like to... Listen to Miles Davis while someone scratches my back.

6. At school I was... Put into the wrong class. I went to year 3 when I was meant to go into year 4. Still the topics seemed quite complex to me.

7. I regret... The passing of the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent.

8. I'm most proud of... and greatly enjoy is being able to climb trees without branches, just getting a firm grip on the sides with my hands and feet.

9. The place I'd like most to travel to is... Yoshino, Japan, to catch the sight of the annual cherry blossoms.

10. I'd like to be remembered for... Making people smile. Have you ever noticed how easily puppies make human smile? Yet all they do is wag their tails and fall over.

Also in this edition...
Media Room

15 Seconds of Fame

How to...

Key Dates and Coming Events

Sports Management Event

Key Dates and Coming Events

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:15:00 GMT

Key Dates and Coming Events

The key dates and coming events for the rest of this semester include:

Semester 2 commences - 19th July

Semester 2 break - 27th September - 1st October

Labour Day Holiday - 4th October

End of Semester Examination Week - 6th December - 10th December

Semester 2 conclues - 10th December

Canberra Graduation - To be confirmed

Sydney Graduation - To be confirmed

Campus Information Session Times

Canberra - Tuesday 3pm-4pm, Wednesday 5.45pm-6.45pm, Thursday 2pm-3pm

North Sydney - Monday 2pm-3.30pm, Tuesday 6pm-7.30pm, Thursday 2pm-3.30pm

Parramatta - Monday 4pm-5pm, Wednesday 5:45pm-6:45pm, Thursday 2pm-3pm

Also in this edition...
Media Room

15 Seconds of Fame

How to...

Key Dates and Coming Events

Sports Management Event

VET FEE-HELP breaks down barriers...

Thu, 21 May 2009 15:14:00 GMT

The Federal Government's recent introduction of student loan support for vocational education and training programs from approved providers is already spurring strong interest from individuals keen to improve their job skills, according to the Australian Business Academy.

In just a few months since the roll-out of the VET FEE-HELP scheme, student enrolments at the ABA's campuses in Sydney, Parramatta and Canberra are up significantly on a range of eligible Diploma and Advanced Diploma level courses.

"We have experienced a solid increase in enrolments in a number of our approved vocational education courses since the Government's VET FEE-HELP scheme has come into effect," says Australian Business Academy General Manager Sean Steele.

"This is because the scheme has now given individuals, who previously may have been deterred or restricted from enrolling in vocational courses due to financial reasons, the ability to undertake a course and pay for it later, once they begin working."

VET FEE-HELP is an extension of the FEE-HELP Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). It assists eligible full fee-paying students undertaking certain VET courses of study (diploma, advanced diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma courses) with an approved VET provider, to pay for all or part of their tuition costs. Individuals who use the scheme begin repaying their debt once they have graduated and reach a taxable income threshold of $43,150.

"The OECD and Australian Federal Government have both recently acknowledged that we are going to need to put more people through vocational education and training to meet our skills shortage, because Universities don't produce enough students with the right skills to fill all the skilled roles Australia needs," Mr Steele says.

"The ABA is one of only a handful of educational providers that has been approved for the VET FEE-HELP scheme at this stage and we have approval for courses in Business Administration, Graphic Design, Human Resources Management, IT, Management and Marketing, Sports Management and Travel and Tourism".

"All of a sudden there are absolutely no barriers to anybody regardless of their age, their educational background or their financial position to upskilling themselves through a vocational educational course into a better paid and more enjoyable job, fast," Mr Steele adds.

"We produce graduates much faster than TAFEs or other private colleges by having an accelerated course model. That's one of the major reasons why people come to us, because they can get out into the workforce more quickly and into a better-paying job".

"If you always wanted to go to University but never got a good UAI, are worried about losing your job and therefore need to gain some qualifications or are a mature-age student who'd like to branch into a new career, you can now complete a Diploma or Advanced Diploma in 6 to 18 months and not pay anything for that course until you're earning over $43,150 a year. The ABA will even help you find a better job when you graduate."

Mr Steele says VET FEE-HELP will be one of the key mechanisms for creating a more educated and better-skilled workforce in Australia.

"It will help people who want to upskill because they're doing a dead-end job or have been recently made redundant due to current economic conditions. Now there's no financial barriers to them improving their educational qualifications and getting a better job".

"We offer a free assessment service and advise them on what courses they can enrol in, whether they're eligible for VET FEE-HELP and where they can study in ACT or NSW."

About Australian Business Academy:
Australian Business Academy is a well-established business education and training provider with campus locations in North Sydney, Parramatta and Canberra. The ABA delivers nationally recognised and accredited Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma level courses. These courses are offered in an accelerated format that ranges from 6 to 18 months in duration.

For further information, contact:
Sean Steele
General Manager
02 6248 0877
www.aba.edu.au