subject: 4 Reasons Why Accreditation Is So Important For Career Development [print this page] 4 Reasons Why Accreditation Is So Important For Career Development
Accreditation has emerged as one of the main issues in employment, particularly in the global market. Accredited courses are qualification standards, recognized by national law and in many cases international employment treaties.Australian accreditation is recognized globally in many fields, but you need to be aware of the issues related to accreditation when selecting your qualifications providers and courses.
Accreditation basics
Accreditation of a training course is an official recognition of the status of an educational qualification by government. It gives the qualification legal status, as a bona fide qualification for employment and education purposes. In many professions, accreditation is critically important as a career asset, like an MBA, and for education as a qualification for study.
If your qualifications are not accredited, you may find that you're unable to use them for employment or education purposes. This can be a very serious, as well as infuriating, problem. It can also mean you've spent a lot of money on a course which is effectively useless.
International accreditation of qualifications is often a major obstacle for students, as well as professionals. International accreditation is achieved as a result of treaties between nations, recognizing qualifications and/or matching them to specific levels of qualification in those nations.
What's accredited and what's not
Despite the obvious benefits of accreditation, not all training courses are accredited. Fortunately for students, top level colleges make a point of referring to their accreditations. It's very reassuring to students to know they're getting a recognized national qualification.
Some courses, however, simply don't refer to accreditation, and that's when you need to worry. These courses can be expensive wastes of time, and getting your money back can be extremely difficult.
Checking for accreditation
The safe option is to check accreditation with the Department of Education. This may take a few phone calls or emails, but will clarify the situation. A course, like accounting andmarketing courses, can't be "a bit accredited", and the answer will be a Yes or No.
Useful tip for international students: If you're an international student, your accreditation issues can be particularly important. You may need to check unclear areas in your national qualifications as well as Australian accreditations. You can also get some help with those issues while checking. (You can do this online.)
Professional accreditation issues- Play safe, always
For professionals, it is absolutely essential to be sure about accreditation. If you are provided with misleading or false information about accreditations, you have legitimate grounds for complaint, and possible legal options.
It's best to play safe from the start, however, and ensure about accreditation. There are ways of finding bona fide accreditations, and they're easy.
Information about accreditations should include:
Full information indicating the accrediting authority
Registration and approval information from government bodies
A reference to the accreditation, usually a specific code reference
Related government registration information regarding eligibility for fee support, etc.
If this information is not provided, you can draw the appropriate conclusions.
