ICEF Agent Training Course (IATC)

Total Student Care (TSC) has undertaken the IATC training offered by ICEF in partnership with Pier Online. The IATC course is practical, professional training course desined for education agent who provide counselling to students. The motto of the course is to support excellence and professional standards in international education.

The training has provided us with -

• An understanding of the overall international education market and the main destination countries for international students;
• The skills and research parameters to analyse destination countries and their education products and processes &
• The functional dynamics of dealing with students, education institutions, and governments.

We have attained knolwdge and skills in the following areas –

The Context of International Education including –

• Destination countries: Education markets in destination countries, understanding a country, main destination countries;
• Education systems: Qualifications framework, study planning;
• Regulatory systems: Government laws and regulations, industry self-regulation, types of laws;
• Legal requirements: Legal requirements of education providers, agent contracts and accountability, consumer protection;
• Student visa: Migration regulations, student visas, enrolment and visa applications, prerequisites.

People in International Education including –

• International education stakeholders: Education institutions, communication with education institutions;
• Student client management: Recruitment and enrolment, after departure;
• Student care issues: People, student care programmes, cultural awareness;
• Student documents: Dealing with student documents.

Promoting International Education including –

• Working effectively: Technology, customer service, work practices;
• Marketing information: Sources of information, using the information;
• Ethics: Principles, issues.

British Council Foundation Certificate for Agents

The training has enabled us to effectively promote UK education and provide high quality information, resources and services to potential international students. The course also has developed our skills in finding the information we need and how to regularly update our knowledge. This has essentially facilitated to educate our customers so that they can make informed decision independently with better preparation for their higher study pursuance.

The certificate is a recognition of commitment to quality and professionalism and enables public listing on the British Council trained agents list.

We have gained expertise, from the training, in the following areas –

• UK education and training system, courses and qualifications at each level;
• Quality assurance mechanisms and how they operate;
• Benefits of studying and living in the UK;
• Student lifestyle issues – travel, accommodation, living costs, welfare;
• Course fees and scholarships;
• UK application procedures, entry requirements, visas and immigration regulations.

British Council Advanced Certificate for Agents

This training is part of British Council’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme for education agents. The training recognises experienced professional agents who are committed to update their knowledge and adapt to the changing environment through regular progressions of knowledge, skills and competencies.

The advanced certificate give access to/recognition of ongoing professional development with the British Council. With an advanced agent status, this enables agents for continued listing on the British Council Trained Agent List and create opportunities for increased international recognition.

To gain the advanced certificate, we covered a mandatory 35 hours CPD with compulsory areas of –

• Education sector knowledge;
• Life in the UK;
• Visas and Immigration;
• Marketing and promotion;
• Professionalism and ethics.

The above areas have been covered through a number of Professional Development Activities and have been recorded in Professional development Log. In addition to this we have also covered 5 formal and 275 informal CPD hours required by the course, submitted portfolio with evidences for the following activities –

• Role: Training and conference attendance; on-line training participation, counselling students, training colleagues, mentoring referees;
• Competences: Up-to-date knowledge of the sector, competitor activity, marketing and promotional strategies, listening with empathy, reading non-verbal signals, cutomer focus, ability to maintain good relationships, taking initiative and be creative, organisation, flexibility, teamwork and cooperation, responsiveness, attention to detail;
• Professionalism and ethical practice: Professional behaviour, professional competence and due care, integrity, objectivity, transparency, professionalism and purpose, confidentiality;
• Assessing development needs;
• Creating development plan.

English UK: Partner Agency Briefing Course

The English UK Partner Agency Scheme is a mark of quality for study abroad agencies and educational consultants that are promoting the UK as an English language teaching destination. Total Student Care (TSC), has successfully completed the course and gained extensive knolwdge and skills in the following areas –

• The benefits and responsibilities of becoming a partner agency;
• General information about studying in the UK;
• English UK;
• Accreditation;
• UK visas

UK NARIC: International Student Recruitment Seminar: Best Practice and Education Fraud

This special, one-day seminar has been designed to help international student recruitment and admission staff to understand more about the new immigration environment and its impact on identifying, evaluating and sponsoring overseas students. We have covered the following topics –

• Compliant international student recruitment;
• Developing a good agent/institution relationship;
• Ethics in international student recruitment;
• Appointment and monitoring of agents;
• Marketing strategies;
• Education fraud.

UK NARIC Tier 4 Compliance Seminar

This was a great opportunity to learn from experts in the international student recruitment field. We gained insights into practical and strategic solutions to maximise international student recruitment and get the latest updates on Tier 4. We covered the following from the session –

• Compliant international student recruitment;
• Education fraud;
• Processess implemented by institutions to meet Tier 4 compliance regulations;
• Effective evaluation of international qualifications.

Apollo Anti-Corruption (Global edition)

This online training course has taught us the key principle: we will not sacrifice our values or our goals for the ‘’quick win’’; we are focused on building long term success, stability, and excellence. Under this, we have developed understanding on –

• Integrity of commercial transactions;
• International trade laws;
• Seeking assistance;
• Insider trading and tipping off;
• Ethical dilemma: ‘’What’s the right thing to do?’’