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The History of Advance Training Centres Ltd (ATC)
Advance Training Centres Ltd began training in Kaitaia in 1991. This was followed by expansion into Whangarei in 1994 and the North Shore of Auckland in 1995. The Hyde family purchased the company in 2000 and further expansion has taken place with branches set up in Dargaville (2003), Kaikohe (2005) and most recently Huntly (2008).
The company has the philosophy that everything it is involved in must be of the highest quality. ATC is NZQA registered and accredited and as a Private Training Establishment ATC is regularly audited by NZQA to make sure it meets all points of compliance and is delivering training at the highest level to its students.
The New Zealand Government has been funding the Fast Track and SMART courses that ATC has designed in one way or another since 1992. At first this was through Skill New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development but now these courses are funded by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) which allows them to be offered free to students who meet the criteria set out by the TEC. These contracts have certain performance targets built into them that the company must meet and it's a credit to the quality of the staff and the quality of the courses that they have continually met the targets and therefore been continuously funded since 1992.
In 1998 approval was granted to administer and deliver student loan courses. These are our National Certificate courses in Business Administration and Computing although in recent years we have been able to offer these courses at prices low enough that students don't need a student loan. Students who are not eligible for our free courses often choose to enrol in these programmes. In 1999 approval was given for the receipt of the Universal Tertiary Training Allowance.
2002 saw the company approved as a Signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastrol Care of International Students. Again this is only approved for high quality education providers and is constantly monitored. Even though we have this certificate ATC has not enrolled any International Students due to a strong domestic market. This does remain a possibility for the future.
The Gateway Programme was introduced to schools in 2003 and ATC worked with the West Auckland Sub Cluster of Schools to provide training and workplace assesments from its inception. Since those early days we have gained a wealth of experience in Gateway training and now provide assistance to schools in Northland, Rodney, Auckland, North Shore and of course West Auckland. ATC mainly provides specialist training for these school students in the areas of Banking, Accounting MYOB, Computing, Health & Safety, Business Administration, Reception, Office Skills and Retail.
ATC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NorthTec in 2005 with the goal that both organisations will work closely on certain issues to benefit students north of the Harbour Bridge. This Memorandum has enabled the two organisations to work together on certain courses.
2008 was a massive year for ATC with the company gaining recognition for it's successful outcomes with its students and for the work it does in the communities where its branches are based. The company hosted visits from the now Prime Minister John Key, the MP for East Coast Bays Murray McCully, the MP for Tamaki Allan Peachey as well as the Minister of Education at the time and MP for Te Atatu Chris Carter. We were also lucky enough to have the MP for Auckland Central Nikki Kaye compete for the invitational team in the 2008 version of the Victoria Cross Challenge Cup. Following on from those visits 2009 has seen ATC host the Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett.
This company has a passion to assist all its students to upskill and educate themselves and encourages every student to be the best they can be. There is an enthusiastic staff and a culture of achievement and success that runs throughout all its branches. In the future Advance Training Centres will continue to expand in size to reach out to as many New Zealanders as possible.
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