Jaclyn, Real Estate student

Recently I had a chat with one of our students regarding what she had learnt from attending  an open house as part of her assessment for the Real Estate course, Passmores’.

Jaclyn made the following observations:

1.  The open house could have been run a lot better.  In class we were told to greet inspectors with a smile, ask questions and point out features, not the obvious (i.e. ‘Have you noticed the new  slate floors in the kitchen?’     Not . . . ‘here is the Kitchen’).  At the open house I attended the agent didn’t even get my contact details, let alone say hi.  He didn’t point out any of the features of the house. 

2. Throughout our Real Estate course we were taught that first impressions are everything!  At the open house I attended we were asked to take off our shoes and walk around on really cold tiles – I couldn’t wait to get out of there.  It was a cold day and yet there was a lovely gas burner sitting there turned off. I would’ve asked the client to turn on the heaters.  They also had all the curtains closed which made it feel very gloomy; opening the curtains could’ve brightened things up a bit.

3. The agent didn’t seem very interested in selling the property.  One of the things that’s been impressed upon me in class is that we need to remain impartial when selling a property.  If we don’t like a property that certainly shouldn’t come across and we should appear engaged and interested in the property we are selling.

4. As we left we weren’t given any further information about the house.  We’ve been taught that it’s really important to have a flier/brochure ready to give the inspector as they leave.

5.  As we left the realtor didn’t ask any qualifying questions such as, ‘Is this the kind of property that you’re looking for?’

Overall, Jaclyn found the experience very worthwhile as she’d never been to an open house before and realised the importance of much of what she’d been taught while completing the Real Estate course at Passmores’.

Posted by passmores on October 11th, 2011
Business College News, Students
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 What have Passmores’ Business College students experienced so far?

Passmores’ Business College is a college full of many experiences. For students, attending Passmores’ Business College Newcastle is more than just pursuing their dream career path but, is also an opportunity to experience a range of courses filled with academic challenges, career opportunities, exciting group excursions and both independent and  group tasks.

Although it is only May, Passmores’ has organised many different team tasks and excursions.

Event Management, in particular, has been an experience in itself for most students as they have had to meet with Charities, Venue Managers and Donating Companies.

For the Marketing and Media course attendees, they have had the ultimate movie experience. The group ventured down to Charlestown Square for ‘Media’ to watch ‘The Kings Speech’ and experience firsthand, what it is like to sit in a Reading Cinemas Gold Class Cinema. The cinema features luxury reclining seats and state of the art cinema technology; including super wide screens and digital audio delivering a stunning cinematic experience. Students were also able to order meals, snacks and beverages, all delivered by a highly classed waiter.

The students at Passmores’ Business College, Newcastle are yet to experience the Melbourne trip, which involves students staying at the luxurious Crowne Plaza with their peers, going on a few excursions planned by the Passmores’ Staff and lapping up all that Melbourne has to offer.

Although students have witnessed firsthand many different experiences throughout the course so far, there is many more to come . . .

By Sam Newman

Posted by passmores on May 12th, 2011
Students, Uncategorized
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Part of Passmores’ Newcastle Hospitality Courses is work experience, which is the chance to get that proverbial foot in the door.

The Newcastle Hospitality Courses offers an exotic variety of places to work in. For example, some of this year’s students studying Passmores’ Newcastle Hospitality Courses have work experience at top organisations throughout Australia including Hayman Island, Mercure Centro in Port Macquarie, the Hunter Valley Gardens, Star City Hotel and Peppers Anchorage in Nelson Bay.

Past graduates of Passmores’ Newcastle Hospitality Courses have gone onto work in an even broader variety of locations and positions, such as the Warner’s Bros Movie World & Seaworld Nara Resort, Carnival Cruises USA, Hamilton Island Resort, Buckingham Palace, Star City Casino, QANTAS Airlines, Horizons golf Resort and Thomas Cook Travel.

For more information on Passmores’ Newcastle Hospitality Courses check out our course content on our website.

Posted by Passmores on November 8th, 2010
Hospitality Courses, Students
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Business Students Prepare For Workforce

Term one has flown by and now Passmores’ Business College students are busy settling into term two.

Passmores’ takes pride in offering Newcastle courses that prepare students for the realities of the workforce.  A big component of succeeding in the business sector involves time management and team work.  As a result, term one was a big learning curve for our students, as they learnt to grapple with these issues through a steady flow of assignments, tests, team work and presentations.  The students were glad to take a well earned break at the end of term one!

The atmosphere at Passmores’ Business College, as term two swings into action, is one of positive energy as the students gear up for another busy term.  There is a happy buzz, as students realise that they can get through it and are already equipped with some well learnt lessons from term one.

All the best guys, we know you can do it!

Posted by Passmores on April 23rd, 2010
Business College News, Business Courses, Newcastle Courses News, Passmores News, Students, Uncategorized
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It’s not every day that students have the opportunity to fire questions at the Global Head of a multi-national corporation. But, the students from Passmores’ Business College were given the chance to do just that. Maria Atkinson, Global Head of Sustainability at Lend Lease, shared with students practical career advice as she described how her career progressed from a position in marketing to the position she has today.

Her position today takes her to thirty five different countries around the world as she steers Lend Lease’s work towards realising its aspiration to be a leading sustainable organisation. Among her list of achievements, Maria was a Co-founder of the Green Building Council of Australia where she was responsible for overseeing the building of ‘green’ accommodation for the 2000 Olympics.

In September 2007 former US President Bill Clinton invited Maria to join a high-profile panel to discuss ways to accelerate green buildings, as part of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York . Working in this high profile international arena has made Maria aware of the need to anticipate and empathize when it comes to interacting with a diverse range of clients. She was able to share the importance of this with the students at the seminar, as well as the need for good presentation, networking, planning and lifelong learning.

Her parting words of wisdom to students – “Acknowledge the past, plan for the future but most importantly engage in the present.”

Posted by Passmores on March 14th, 2010
Business College News, Passmores News, Staff, Students
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Each year Passmores’ Business College takes pleasure in recognising students who have excelled throughout the year in different areas of our Newcastle Courses. 

Listed below are our award winners for 2009.

1^st Place in the Real Estate/Legal Major 2009:  Rachael Scott

1^st Place for Hospitality/Tourism Major 2009: Bonnie Olsen

1^st Place for the Marketing/Media Major 2009: Amy Schmitzer

Citizenship Award: Amy Schmitzer

Principal’s Award: Paige Cornell

Runner-up College Dux: Amy Schmitzer

College Dux: Rachael Scott

The Butler Memorial award winners for 2009:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Passmores on January 15th, 2010
Business College News, Passmores News, Staff, Students
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Passmores’ students enjoyed a celebratory Easter Service and farewell to Mrs Cable on their last Day of Term 1.

A lovely 2 week break over Easter was greatly enjoyed by Passmores’ students who are now once again roaming the halls with the commencement of Term 2.

This Term will consolidate what was learnt last Term, with students becoming even more capable at dealing with their work load.

Congratulations to all students, who are now one step (1 term) closer to a successful career.

Posted by Passmores on April 29th, 2009
Passmores News, Students
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Passmores’ Business College students are excitedly looking forward to the optional Europe Excursion. The students are set to fly out on 10 July 2009, with 4 countries on the list to visit including England, France, Switzerland and Italy.

The main places the students will visit are: London, Paris, Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, Venice and Rome.

From the spectacular castle’s of London to the bright lights of the Paris Moulin Rouge and everything in between, the student’s are sure to have a fantastic trip.

Proposed Intinerary Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Passmores on April 3rd, 2009
Business College News, Newcastle Courses News, Passmores News, Staff, Students
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Passmores Newcastle courses are nearing their Easter break and we thought it would be a good idea to publish a few digital images of some our students.

Some look happy, some look intense, but the staff at Passmores can honestly say this years intake of students have worked very hard and deserve a short break.

Newcastle courses in digital:

Posted by Passmores on April 3rd, 2009
Business College News, Enrollment, Passmores News, Students
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Our Marketing / Media students are currently developing a range of ideas and concepts in planning for the 2009 yearbook.

The 2009 student’s yearbook will contain great information and articles on their year at the Business College as well as student photos, memories and much more.

We are already looking forward to the finished product which will be released in Term 4 at the end of this year. All Business College students will receive an electronic copy at end of year.

Posted by Passmores on April 2nd, 2009
Business College News, Business Courses, Enrollment, Staff, Students
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