The latest Specsavers Certificate IV (Cert IV) in Optical Dispensing graduates have celebrated their completion of the dispensing course with a certificate ceremony and a scenic boat cruise.

Twenty-four Specsavers optical dispensers from New South Wales and Western Australia were joined by their friends, family members and store directors at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney on 1 June for their graduation. These graduates were part of the 56-large cohort of Cert IV students who completed the course with the Australasian College of Optical Dispensing (ACOD) in 2017 – 50 of whom were from Specsavers. The group represented the first cohort to graduate from ACOD since the College’s launch in late 2016.

ACOD Director and Senior Trainer James Gibbins acted as host for the graduation event, accompanied by fellow ACOD Director and Senior Trainer Chedy Kalach. The evening’s program included a congratulatory speech from Specsavers Dispensing Advancement Manager Katie Philp, as well as guest speaker Jonathan Hennessy Sceats, Founder of Jono Hennessey Group, who described his journey to becoming an iconic Australian eyewear designer. One of the Cert IV graduates, Carly Clarke from Specsavers Shellharbour in NSW, also delivered an address on behalf of the cohort, speaking about how the course had helped her become more confident in-store and thanking the ACOD faculty for their support.

After each graduate received their certificate, a number of additional awards were presented:

  • First in Course – Steven Hurtz, Specsavers Miranda East, NSW
  • Second in Course – Catherine Marks, Specsavers Wanneroo, WA
  • Third in Course – Amanda Harris, Specsavers Ellenbrook, WA.

To finish off the night, the graduates enjoyed a cruise along Sydney Harbour, during which they enjoyed a lightshow as part of the Vivid Sydney festival.

Having further developed their professional dispensing knowledge and skill base though Cert IV, the graduates are now positioned to deliver better outcomes for customers.

Cert IV is an external accreditation facilitated by ACOD and RMIT. The program involves a total of 14 modules, however Specsavers dispensers begin their journey towards qualification in-store through the completion of eight modules as part of Specsavers’ in-house Career Development Program.

Since establishing its dispensing advancement strategy in 2013, Specsavers has seen more than 1,000 Australian and New Zealand dispensers complete the Cert IV program.