V13 Quality Education and Training for Celebrants

SECOND HALF OF THIS YEAR 2011

Victoria University is continuing the College of Celebrancy Certificate IV Course again, in the second half of this year (2011) with the same teachers.

Yvonne Werner also keeps up the Distance Education course through her RTO - Life Skills Training Pty Ltd . She aims to teach it in the second half of the year, with the same personnel.

We know the International College of Celebrancy has the best celebrancy courses in existence. Our graduates tell us so. We really do teach Celebrancy.

We would like our graduates and friends to spread the word.

So if you would like to do the course yourself, or you know anyone who is really interested, please contact Yvonne direct and put your name down 1300 446 786.

Quality Education and Training for Celebrants - Why are these courses different and of extra benefit to you?

In 1994 the Attorney-General’s department invited the then eleven celebrant organisations to create courses of study and training for celebrants. A creative thinking public servant, Helen Eastburn, masterminded the idea. On August 30, 1995, The department paid the Canberra Institute of Technology expert facilitators, Jennifer Rivers and Jan Wallbridge, for a “search conference” with the representative celebrants to establish the Knowledge, Attitudes and Skills (The Competencies), which were required to fully train a celebrant.

In the end the only people to respond to this invitation were Victoria University (later passed on to Monash) and the the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants (AFCC). The International College of Celebrancy was created under the auspices of the AFCC. In a period of turmoil and upheaval, the AFCC passed all responsibility and ownership of the International College of Celebrancy onto me. The Department promised “full support” for any course which came up to the required standard.

When it was proposed that authorised celebrants of the time be given five years to complete an approved course, a core group of anti-education and anti-intellectual went “spastic” and this proposal was withdrawn by the Attorney-General.

The College of Celebrancy was assured by Attorney-General (I still have the letter) that a qualification from the College or Victoria University would be  a significant positive factor in anyone applying to become a celebrant. Another promised not kept.

Eventually these good initiatives were crushed by the abuses of Nationally Recognised Training -- and most of you are familiar with that.

But there will always be people who want quality training so despite these challenges, the College has survived until now without compromising its ideals.

One of the challenges the College faced from the beginning was the diaspora of students  for whom it had to cater. Under the advice of Professor Michael Parer, the renowned educationist, we made the College Courses by Distance Education, with a strong segment of field work, in which studying ceremonies and celebrants were mandated in formal assignments and in in-depth detail.

The problem we always faced was the difficulty many students had  of “needing” face-to-face classes. In time The College Courses were taught at Bendigo TAFE, Wodonga TAFE, Challenger TAFE at Fremantle, Swinburne TAFE and some other RTOs. Unfortunately, in some situations, the quality of teachers could not be controlled to ensure that our educational standards were upheld.

Happily, it seems to me that the the best has now emerged. As some of you may know Victoria University TAFE (the original provider!) last year negotiated with The International College of Celebrancy to teach the College of Celebrancy Certificate IV in Celebrancy Course at the University. This course course combined the best of the Distance Education syllabus and the best communication of face-to-face teaching. The assignments are demanding - we do not believe in students “just sitting” there to gain a certificate. No impression without expression.

The teachers  were up well to the mark. They are three of our own College graduates (the Diploma Course and the Certificate IV) - Yvonne Werner, Caroline Higgins, and Genevieve Messenger - delivered what sounds to be the best Face-To-Face  Certificate IV Course ever.

PS Our Diploma courses are far superior to the Certificate IV in Celebrancy but the Cert IV is  recognised.

Dally Messenger III
504 / 80 Lorimer St,
Docklands 3008, Vic, Australia