The Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI) has joined forces with OpenLearning to launch an online training course for the sector.
President of AAERI, Mr Nishi Borra says “Untrained counsellors advising on studying in Australia pose risks such as visa rejections, non-compliance, and student dissatisfaction, often due to insufficient knowledge about study destinations, visa processes, and ethical standards. This can harm students and institutions alike.”
“To address this, AAERI has developed the Counsellor Refresher Program by adding real-world examples and insights, branding it as the Certificate in Australian International Education Counselling, hosted on OpenLearning (www.openlearning.com/aaeri). The program provides comprehensive training on Australia as a study destination, equipping counsellors to deliver accurate, ethical guidance, which benefits students, institutions, and the broader industry,” he says.
The content will be updated regularly with the latest procedures and policies, and the agent code of ethics is also included. We encourage all education counsellors to join and complete this program. The fee is very affordable: only $50. The idea is that every counsellor advising students on study opportunities in Australia completes this program. A public database of “Certified Counsellors” will be created for easy reference by all.
Borra says the project was first identified at the 2023 AAERI convention. “Austrade had developed the Counsellor refresher program last year, and now the content was handed over to AAERI. AAERI has further developed this program with inputs and examples along with an Open learning platform. I would like to thank Mr Vik Singh (Trade Commissioner, Austrade) for his encouragement on this.”
While not recognised under the AQF at this stage, AAERI recognise the benefits of having it aligned and Bora says the organisation will “exploring this” in coming months.
Adam Brimo, Chief Executive Officer OpenLearning Limited says “OpenLearning has worked closely with AAERI and Study Australia to design a fit-for-purpose online learning experience that builds the capacity of education counsellors through relevant, up-to-date information and learning activities tailored to the needs of education counsellors specialising in Australian education.”
Ravi Lochan Singh, Managing Director of Global Reach underscores the fact AAERI has training as a core element of its membership, saying “ AAERI has always required its members to ensure that the counselling being delivered from their offices is up-to-date and for this reason the requirement that the agencies have counsellors who have cleared the PIER’s EATC This is a part of the membership requirement and to the best of my knowledge, AAERI is the only agent body to have such a requirement. In recent years, there has been a demand to consider alternatives to the EATC and this is where the AAERI-Open Learning partnership in developing the certification comes in. I do believe that such a certification will assure the students that they are engaging with a counsellor that is aware and knowledgeable.”
The Koala wishes AAERI and OpenLearning every success with the program.
Picture: Participants at the AAERI Convention in 2024 where the course was launched.
