Advanced Certificate In Applied Management (Horses)

Course Code	VBS001
Fee Code	AC
Number of Modules	9

COURSE STRUCTURE

This is a 900 hour course; to gain this qualification you must successfully complete:

Four Core Units - see below

Three Stream Units - see below

Workplace Project (200 hours) - this can be satisfied a number of different ways including: undertaking approved work experience in the horse industry attending conferences or approved practical courses with another organisation, or undertaking research (eg. Research Project I and Research Project II)

Click on each module below (or the research projects highlighted above) to view detailed outlines.

CORE UNITS

Management

Office Practices

Business Operations

Marketing Foundations.

STREAM UNITS

Horse Care 1
Learn to manage the daily requirements of a horse at grass.
The course aims to develop:

• The ability to handle horses using a range of different procedures
• Skills to evaluate a horses conformation
• An understanding of diet
• Knowledge of grooming procedures
• An ability to develop appropriate management procedures for a specifc situation.
• Knowledge of commercial opportunities in the horse industry, including how to buy and sell horses.

The course includes most of the subject material in the course "Keeping a Horse"plus more. It covers

• Terminology; Horse Psychology; Using tack; Parts of the body;
• The digestive system; Evaluating the value of a paddock;
• Grooming for different purposes (eg. dressage, shows, stock work);
• Business applications (eg. racing, riding schools, breeding, stock agent, etc).

 Students need to provide proof that they have ridden and  handled a horse prior to completing this course.

Horse Care 2
This course develops skills in the management of horses in a wide range of situations, including in stables. There are seven lessons:
1. Feeds - Roughage, Concentrates, Green feed, etc
2. Stabling - Stalls, Stables, Barns, etc
3. Bedding and Mucking Out
4. The Foot and Shoeing
5. Exercise and Conditioning
6. Tack and Tack Fitting
7. Horse Facility Design

Horse Care III
This course concentrates on problems of health
and poor condition, and covers:
1. Blankets, Bandages and Boots
2. Maintaining the Health of Horses
3. Clipping, Trimming & Plaiting
4. Travelling & Horse Care Away from Home
5. Organising & Managing a Horse Event
6. Managing a Horse Enterprise


Note: the enrolment fee does not include exam fees. An exam fee is paid prior to sitting each exam (7 in total).

CORE UNITS

Office Practices

Develops basic office skills covering use of equipment, communication systems (telephone, fax, etc) and office procedures such as filing, security, workplace organisations, etc.
The course consists in eight lessons where these subjects are developed.

1. The Modern Office
2. Communication Systems
3. Interpersonal Communications
4. Phone Skills
5. Writing Letters and Other Documents
6. Computer Applications
7. Office Organisation and Procedures
8. Health and Safety in the Office
   

Business Operations  

The aim of this course is to provide you with the building blocks for a successful career in business planning and operations. Covering topics such as business law, the money market, taxation, business plan writing and mistakes to avoid, it is a solid foundation, developed by highly qualified and experienced professionals.
Develops knowledge of basic business operations and procedures (eg. types of businesses, financial management, business analysis, staffing, productivity, etc) and the skills to develop a 12 month business plan.

There are 6 lessons as follows:

1. Introduction
   • Business law
   • types of businesses
   • starting a business
2. Finance
   • Liquidity
   • The money market
   • terminology
   • insurance
3. Financial Records
   • Simple Bookkeeping procedures
   • cash flow
4. Financial Management
   • Taxation
   • costing
   • budgeting
   • investing
5. Business Planning Developing a 12 month business plan.
6. Mistakes to avoid
   • Reasons for business failures
   • profitability
   • improving productivity

Management

Make sure your management style is grounded in the 'tried and true'. This course outlines management theories and procedures, problem solving and decision making tactics, staff management, supervision, recruitment and workplace health and safety.
Developed by professionals with a substantial amount of industry experience, it is the perfect foundation for a successful career.

There are 6 lessons as follows:

1. Introduction & Organizational Structures
2. Management Theories & Procedures
3. Problem Solving & Decision Making
4. Management Styles & External Influences
5. Employing People & Interview Skills
6. Staff Management

Marketing Foundations

Develops a broad understanding of marketing and specific skills in writing advertisements, undertaking market research, developing an appropriate marketing plan and selling. The course consists in ten lessons, as follows:

1. Marketing and the Business What is marketing, and its significance, Considering alternative approaches to business & marketing, Alternative enterprises (eg. goods or services based, sole proprietor or partnership etc).
2. Scope of Marketing Understanding basic economics (eg. supply & demand); the difference between the potential market, available market, target market, and penetrated market for a product/service of your choice; Different advertising approaches, Controlling Growth, Improving Results in Business, etc
3. Target Marketing Understanding the market place; Stages that sellers move through in their approach to a market, What is targeting, Advantages of target marketing as compared to mass marketing and product-differentiated marketing
4. The Marketing Mix and Managing the Marketing Effort Product, price, place, and promotion; Affects and interactions between marketing and other operations of a business.
5. Product Presentation and Packaging Importance of product knowledge, Core, tangible and augmented products; Differences in packaging & presentation for different products.
6. Promotion Communication skills, Merchandising, Shop Floor Layout, Displaying Products, Signs, Understanding Selling and Increasing Sales, Sales Methods, Publicity Marketing,
   Structuring an Advertisement or Promotion, Advertising budgets, etc
7. Product Pricing and Distribution Pricing, Profitability Ratios, Increasing Turnover, etc
8. Customer Service Methods of assessing customer satisfaction; Significance of Customer Service; Different types of customers in the market place, and how best to approach each; Difference between selling, publicising, marketing and advertising, etc
9. Market Research The research process, What to research, Surveys, Developing and conducting a market research program, where to find useful statistics,
10. Organisations - Structures and Roles Business law; Financial Management, Business Structures, Business terminology, etc.

 

INDUSTRY PROJECT OR WORK EXPERIENCE

This is the final requirement that you must satisfy before receiving your award.

There are two options available to you to satisfy this requirement:

Alternative 1.

If you work in the industry that you have been studying; you may submit a reference from your employer, in an effort to satisfy this industry (ie. workplace project) requirement; on the basis of RPL (ie. recognition for prior learning), achieved through your current and past work experience.

The reference must indicate that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.

Alternative 2.

If you do not work in the relevant industry, you need to undertake a project as follows.

Procedure for a Workplace Project

This project is a major part of the course involving the number of hours relevant to the course (see above). Although the course does not contain mandatory work requirements, work experience is seen as highly desirable.

This project is based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.

Students will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.

For courses that involve more than 100 hours, more than one workplace project topic may be selected. For example, 200 hours may be split into two projects each of 100 hours. This will offer the student better scope to fulfill the needs of their course and to meet the number of hours required. Alternatively, the student may wish to do one large project with a duration of 200 hours.

Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During each 100 hours of the project, the students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.

If the student wishes to do one large 200 hour report, then only three progressive reports will be needed (however the length of each report will be longer).

This course is designed to equip managers, supervisors, or people who want to work up to these positions within the industry (eg. at a riding school, race track, stud, farm etc) with the necessary management skills required to undertake such a role. 

Three horse care units coupled with a workplace project ensures that this comprehensive qualification is to a standard required in the horse industry.

Accredited by International Accreditation and Recognition Council