Back Of The Class

Vancouver could be your classroom

Whether you live in Asia, Europe, the Americas or Africa, the job market is no longer your home town—it’s worldwide. That’s where we all compete now: in a business world where borders are fluid and communication is critical.

That’s why, more than ever, students are choosing to study abroad, and they’re choosing Canada. 

After all, a strong command of the English language and a quality, internationally recognized education are now crucial to achieve career success. If students can show that they have the relevant language skills and education, they’ll gain a competitive edge in the job market.

International students attracted to Vancouver

When choosing what city they want to study in, students are increasingly selecting Vancouver. It’s the perfect place for students to study and improve their business English.

Host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver is consistently rated as the most livable city in the world.

Plus it’s a diverse and multicultural urban centre, the third-largest in the Canada. Industry leaders in Trade, Finance and Technology call it home.

International students choose Ashton College

Ashton College is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, and has programs suitable for international students.

The campus is just blocks away from the city’s business centre and only minutes from the unique and spectacular physical surroundings that make Vancouver one of the greatest cities in the world.

Ashton College also has a dedicated team of International Admissions Advisers, who are committed to helping international students with any questions they may have regarding their education paths and attending a school in Canada, and an International Development team to serve students abroad. Advisers are multilingual, able to help with students who speak English, Azeri, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Turkish.

Study in Vancouver with confidence at Ashton

Students are attracted to Ashton’s reputation as Vancouver’s premier institution for career education and continuing learning. We work with leading industry experts so that learning at Ashton gives students the opportunity to advance their careers while connecting with employers.

Ashton is fully accredited by the Private Career Training Institutions Agency of British Columbia (PCTIA) and is an Education Quality Assurance (EQA) designated school.

Learn more about Ashton’s programs at AshtonCollege.com or by email.

Ashton Uncategorized ashton college, international students, post secondary education, study abroad, study in vancouver, Vancouver colleges

People want to take control over their financial future, whether that means reigning in debt, planning for retirement or putting money away for college.

A personal financial plan gives one the comfort of knowing that they’re taking steps to ensure the future they want. More than ever, they’re turning to financial planners to offer them expertise and guidance. As a result, the demand for qualified financial planners is growing everyday.

Certified Financial Planners lead the way

In Canada, anyone can refer to themselves as a financial planner. But the Certified Financial Planner (CFP)^® designation is the industry gold standard in financial planning, ensuring that you’ll stand out in a competitive field.

CFP professionals are the largest identifiable body of licensed financial planners in Canada, with over 17,500 individuals meeting the strict standards to attain this designation.

Customers trust Certified Financial Planners

Last month, the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC), released a landmark study on Canadians’ relationships with the financial planners, and how the CFP designation strengthens that relationship.

Some key results from the study:

• 48% of individuals dealing with a CFP professional said they feel closer to their goal of not having to worry about money, as compared with 35% of clients with a non-certified advisor.
• 66% of those dealing with a CFP professional feel closer to taking the maximum advantage of all tax reduction opportunities, as compared with 53% of those working with a non-certified advisor and 29% of those without an advisor.
• 57% of clients with CFP professionals said they feel closer to meeting the goal of ensuring there is enough to pay for post secondary education for their children, as compared with 40% of those with a non-certified advisor and 19% without an advisor.

Get with the Certified Financial Planner program

If you’re career goals are to become a financial planner, it’s time to take the steps to get your CFP designation.

Ashton College’s Certified Financial Planner ^® Accelerated Program will prepare you to write the Financial Planning Examination Level 1 as soon as June 2011.

Or you can take courses at your own pace with our Certified Financial Planner ^® Program, so you can keep working while building your skills for career advancement.

Ashton Uncategorized ashton college, certified financial planner, CFP, financial planner

Often underappreciated but never unnoticed, the payroll administrator makes a business hum.

Not just anyone can handle the responsibility of payroll administration, though; the job requires knowledge of the tax system, provincial and federal legislation, records reporting and employment standards, just for starters. 

It should come as no surprise then that more and more businesses are recognizing the need for experts to handle their payroll, whether it’s done by dedicated in-house staff or outsourced to a professional payroll service.

Is outsourcing payroll administration right for your business?

Payroll service firms can handle just about every payroll situation, freeing up your staff to focus on keeping your business growing and operating.

Outsourcing is not right for every business, though.

Large companies can afford to have the staff and advanced computer systems to handle payroll internally and efficiently. A company’s size and expertise, as well as cost and technology, can determine whether it’s best to keep payroll internal or to outsource, in whole or in part.

Why should you outsource payroll administration?

There are a lot of good reasons to consider hiring an outside firm to handle your payroll administration. Here are a few:

• You can concentrate on growing your business. Outsourcing your payroll will free up you and your employees’ time and reducing workload to focus on growing your business.
• You will get a highly trained specialist managing your payroll. Payroll administrators have in-depth knowledge of provincial and federal laws to ensure your payroll is being done correctly.
• Someone else will make the payments. Payroll administrators can ensure that your employees get paid on time, hassle-free.
• Payroll processing companies are flexible. Last minute changes to things like benefits and employment status will be processed on time and correctly.
• Less tax liability. Payroll administrators will manage all your paperwork and ensure few errors are made. Some payroll services will even guarantee that your business will never have to pay a payroll-tax penalty.
• Easy submission of payroll data. Payroll companies offer a selection of payroll submission options— phone, fax or online. Whether your company is large or small, you can choose the method that works best for you.

Be a payroll administration expert

Whatever you decide is right for your business, the important thing to keep in mind is that you need an expert handling your payroll.

Ashton College offers a weeklong seminar in Payroll Administration to get you or your staff ready to handle the role. Our Payroll Administration course is designed for both professionals and those pursuing a career in payroll administration.

For information on this program, click here.

Ashton Uncategorized ashton college, payroll, payroll adminstration, payroll adminstrator

If you’re reading this, then chances are you recognize a blog when you see one.

It used to be that blogs were an online home for diaries or journals, but they, and other social media tools, are quickly changing the way people interact with and think about their customers and businesses.

Social media tools—like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn—have become essentials to marketing a business.

Growing your business with social media marketing

The goal of a business is to serve a customer who creates another customer. That’s how you grow. And using social media can help businesses do just that.

Engaging with customers and business partners through social media is becoming one of the most important sales and marketing strategies.

It helps businesses to take a more customer-focused approach, not just selling to customers but engaging with them on an on-going basis, like creating a community. It’s about keeping in contact, establishing loyalty and making connections with potential new customers.

How to get started in social media marketing

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the technological advances made in the way we communicate. Many business owners are having trouble keeping up and figuring out ways that they can use social media to their advantage. They’re intimidated by the number and variety of social media tools out there, and some just don’t see how using them can help their business grow.

But it’s not that difficult, and certainly worth the effort. If you’re just getting started, here are a few simple rules to keep in mind:

• Be helpful. Use your blog to share insights, providing information that’s useful to your customers and related to the service you provide.
• Build a community. Create a Facebook fan page and link your blog to it. This way others can read about your business.
• Don’t sell, converse. Use Twitter to find out what’s going on in, and to connect with, your community.

The lesson is to never stop learning, whether you’re just entering the business world or you’ve got three decades of experience behind you. Marketing strategies are always changing, always evolving—only the most flexible entrepreneurs who are willing to continue learning will succeed.

Ashton College offers full- and part-time studies in Sales and Marketing, so professionals can keep on the leading edge.

For information on this program, click here.

Ashton Uncategorized Marketing, Sales, Social Media

Chances are you’ve witnessed or experienced the tremendous strain of coping with a serious illness like cancer, heart attack or stroke. Our country’s demographics are changing: over 13 per cent of our population is aged 65 or older, which means we’re much more likely to suffer from critical illnesses.

Advances in medical care mean more and more people are surviving these illnesses to go on to lead full and active lives. But recuperation takes time, emotional energy and financial resources.

Critical Illness Insurance Helps

A recent survey by the Canadian Breast Cancer Network found that most respondents experienced a major financial setback while fighting the illness. Treatment time for breast cancer averaged 38 weeks. However, Employment Insurance is only payable for up to 15 weeks at 55 per cent of salary. That does not cover half of the treatment time.

It’s up to individuals, then, to make sure that they and their families are protected in these times of need. This is where critical illness (CI) insurance can help.

How Critical Illness Insurance Works

CI insurance provides protection in the form of a lump-sum cash payment (such as $75,000) to anyone diagnosed with a disease listed in the policy and who survives for at least 30 days after diagnosis. CI policies typically cover more than 20 different diseases including heart attacks, cancer, strokes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and organ transplants. CI insurance helps provide the financial protection needed to help patients better focus on what matters most – getting well.

When looking for advice on CI insurance, Canadians turn to Registered Health Underwriters (RHU) for advice.

Looking to an RHU for Critical Illness Insurance Advice

An RHU is a professional financial advisor specializing in living benefits, including income replacement and risk management solutions for individuals, business owners and professionals. It’s the only designation in Canada denoting specialized knowledge in all areas of living benefits and is the premier credential in the health insurance industry.

The RHU designation is the only designation of its kind in Canada. As a result, 83 per cent of financial advisors reported an increase in their income of up to $10,000 per year since obtaining the RHU, according to an Advocis survey.

Ashton College, in partnership with Advocis, offers a Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) program that is designed to provide students with the knowledge to become experts in the growing industry of living benefits.

For information on how to enrol, click here.

Ashton Uncategorized Advocis, ashton college, Breast Cancer, Critical, living benefits, Registered Health Underwiter, RHU

Ashton alumnus and faculty member Patricia Kennedy has been awarded the 2009 John A. Tory Gold Medal for CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) Studies as determined by the Financial Advisors Association of Canada (Advocis) and the CLU Institute. This prestigious honour is awarded annually to the sole graduate who achieves the highest average marks for all CLU courses in Canada!

Patricia currently instructs the part-time Business Law and Taxation courses at Ashton College while working as a regional consultant with Canada Life Assurance Company. Prior to this, she was a Vice-President at RBC Financial Group for ten years. Patricia graduated from the University of Victoria in 1986 with a LL.B. degree and was called to the Bar in both British Columbia and Ontario. She has also successfully completed her CLU designation at Ashton College and also holds the LLQP, PFP and CFP designations.

The John A. Tory Gold Medal for CLU Studies
The Tory Award was originally donated by James M. Tory, CLU, in memory of his father, the late John. A. Tory, CLU. The medal was first presented in 1952 and is awarded annually to the CLU graduate who achieves the highest average for all course subjects without failing any of the CLU examinations.

Congratulations to Patricia for this exceptional achievement and for her commitment to excellence.  For a complete list of current CLU award winners click here.

 For over 80 years, the CLU designation has been widely recognized throughout the financial industry as a mark of superior educational standards and professional excellence.  It is Canada’s premier wealth transfer and estate planning designation.  The CLU compliments the CFP competencies to provide the flexibility to better assist clients in these essential areas.     

 For information about CLU studies at Ashton College click here.

Ashton Uncategorized Advocis, ashton college, BC, British Columbia, Canada Life Assurance Company, CFP, Chartered Life Underwriter, CLU, CLU Institute, colleges, Downtown, education, Fincancial Advisor, John A. Tory Gold Medal, Patricia Kennedy, post secondary education, Tory Award, vancouver, Vancouver colleges

It was articulated recently in the Business in Vancouver newspaper article­, “Economic downturn fails to slow growth in key professions,” published May 10, 2010, that accountants remain in high demand as the profession is one of the few that continues to enjoy substantial growth despite the recession. 

According to the article, all three BC accounting associations are reporting double-digit percentage growth in the past four years.  Since 2007, the number of Certified General Accountants (CGAs) in BC has risen by 15.2% or 1,290 members.   The association of Certified Management Accountants (CMAs) has also seen a 10% increase by 518 members and Chartered Accountants (CAs) have increased by 11.2% or 1,032 members.    

Demand for accounting services tends to remain relatively constant during differing economic cycles.  Ever changing, complex finance and taxation rules reinforce the need for sound business advice best delivered from accounting professionals.  Additional demand is also driven by tighter scrutiny at financial institutions during tougher economic times. Accounting services are not luxury items.  They are essential services that provide some protection and valuable advice from the ups and downs of business cycles. 

Ashton College offers an accelerated Diploma in Accounting program that will help students work toward their CGA designation.  In fact, the program is fully transferable to the invaluable CGA designation, fullfilling the requirements for Level 1, 2 and 3 of the CGA in only eight months!  For a specific list of transferable courses please visit the official CGA website here. According to the CGA association, 95% of CGA’s are currently working in accounting or finance.

For more information on the Diploma in Accounting program at Ashton College or the CGA designation click here. 

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When exploring modern business theory it is not uncommon to come across statements akin to, “A company is only as good as its people” or “employees are a company’s most valuable asset.”   Are such statements merely popular clichés embedded in water-cooler folk lore or do theses adages carry much more weight than that?

What we do know is that corporations are always searching for more efficient ways to produce goods and services.  To be successful in any market, companies need a highly skilled, flexible and committed work force, dynamic and innovative management, the ability to retain and develop talent, and a strong partnership between management and additional stakeholders such as: labour unions.

To achieve these goals, companies often enlist the services of an internal or external human resources division. Besides hiring the right people to manage and perform specific jobs, HR managers are charged with building commitment and loyalty among the workforce by keeping them up to date about organizational strategies, and laying out the implications for job security and working conditions.  Common HR functions also include: organizational design and development, compensation rewards and benefits management and business transformation and change management.

Perhaps the adages about the importance of the workforce within organizations do have some real merit as evidenced by the fact that new opportunities continue to emerge in HR. Organizations today continue to rely more and more heavily on their HR departments to help maximize return on investment in human capital and to minimize financial risk.  In fact, human resources has evolved to become a staple division in most organizations across the globe.

Ashton College acknowledges this trend by offering students an exceptional opportunity to obtain a solid foundation in modern HR skills, functions and concepts through the Diploma in Human Recourses Management program.  The program is both theoretical and practical in its approach, utilizing genuine business scenarios to reinforce concepts discussed.  For more information on the Diploma in Human Resources Management program, learning outcomes and potential job prospects, visit www.ashtoncollege.com or contact 604.899.0803 and ask to speak to a HR academic adviser.

Ashton Uncategorized ashton college, benefits, business theory, compensation, Diploma in Human Resources Management, employees, HR, Human Resources, Human Resources Management, organization, personnel, strategies, vancouver, Vancouver colleges, workforce

New Canadian immigrants face numerous challenges when it comes to securing a stable career in Canada.  Many have completed education in a foreign country or possess significant international work experience yet lack the proper certification or accreditation required to work in certain fields within this country.  Ashton College recognizes these challenges by providing financial assistance in the form of entrance scholarships in honour of long-time immigrant advocate and former CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S. Lilian To. 

 The $30,000 Lilian To annual entrance scholarships assist new immigrants in acquiring the appropriate Canadian education and certifications needed to secure solid employment in specific industries here in Canada.  The awards are available for eligible landed immigrants or Canadian citizens who wish to enroll in full-time or part-time programs in a variety of fields at Ashton College.  Ashton offers a number of programs that are linked with prominent professional certifications and licensing making it perfect match for new Canadians to obtain the credentials they need.       

 “Ashton College has provided me with a wealth of opportunities. It opened many doors for me, not only to gain knowledge and skills, but to make contacts and build business relationships in Vancouver,” says Jose Ledesma, one of last year’s scholarship winners. 

“I am proud to say that the Immigration Consultant Diploma that I completed at Ashton College has had an impact on obtaining my current position as General Manager of an immigration company.”

 The Scholarships cover all tuition expenses excluding books and materials. The deadline for application for this year’s Scholarships is July 31, 2010.  The number of recipients is determined by application quality and the cost of programs selected.                 

For more information on specific requirements and application instructions please visit:

http://www.ashtoncollege.com/scholarships.php

Ashton Uncategorized ashton college, immigrant employment, Immigrants, immigration, Lilian To, Lilian To Scholarship, new canadian immigrants, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Scholarships, Scholarships Vancouver, SUCCESS, Vancouver colleges

Buying a home is one of the most important purchases consumers make.  A major factor to consider during the transaction is the condition of the home.  Certified Home Inspectors are routinely employed to help conscientious consumers protect their investments by providing a well-informed, non-biased assessment before or after purchasing a home.   

A relatively new profession, home inspection has evolved into one of the fastest growing industries in North America. Improved consumer awareness, increased liability, prevalence of grow-ops, leaky condos and growing consumer demand for qualified information have all contributed to significant growth in the BC home inspection industry since the late 1990’s.

 As of March 31, 2009, BC became the only province in Canada to require that home inspectors be licensed. Licensing enhances consumer protection as licensed businesses with Consumer Protection BC have obligations under the law and must adhere to the standards of their association. 

To become a licensed home inspector in BC, one must first complete an accredited program like the Certificate in Home Inspection (CHI) program available at Ashton College in Downtown Vancouver.  “Our program is fully accredited by the National Certification Authority and offers students the opportunity to seek licensing after only five months,” says Fouad Saeidi, Admissions Advisor at Ashton College.  “To be a competent and professional home inspector, one must be able to understand how the systems and components found in a home perform and mature over time,” says Saeidi.  “Our program gives students the tools to do so.” 

Working as a Home Inspector can be quite lucrative.  Performing two home inspections per day is comfortable for a professional practitioner. A full-time inspector could realistically perform 300-400 inspections per year. Average inspection fees are approximately $400. Inspectors performing 350 inspections per year can gross $140,000. The opportunities in home inspection are substantial and will grow as this profession matures.

For more information on the Home Inspection profession, education required or to apply for the program click here

Ashton Uncategorized Admissions Advisor, ashton college, British Columbia, Certified Home Inspector, Consumer Protection BC, continuous learning, Downtown, education, grow-ops, Home, Home Buying, Home Inspection, Leaky Condos, Licensing, National Certification, post secondary education, vancouver