Whether you want to work from home for clients or build a business out of it, this diploma was built for that. Setting up the VA business, the office software, the books in Xero, and running projects.
The first course is about setting the business up: finding clients, handling the work, and looking like someone worth paying from the first email.
Already doing this work in an office? The same skills pay from home, for several clients at once, on hours that suit you.
It is online and self paced, with no exams, ever. You get 12 months of access and unlimited tutor support in business hours, so it moves at the speed your week allows.
Small businesses want the help without hiring anyone, and that gap is the whole job. The work is easy to picture: someone else's inbox and diary, invoices raised and chased in Xero, a project kept moving, and the posts going out on time.
The core of it: inbox, diary, documents and the follow up, done remotely.
One person, looked after start to finish, from wherever you happen to be.
The jobs a small team cannot get to, picked up and handed back finished.
Invoices, bills and reconciliations in Xero, for clients who have nobody doing it.
Keeping the clients looked after and the work moving between them.
Roles where these skills are useful, not promised outcomes. Every role is different, and some need more study or experience. Business manager and consultant titles usually go to people with years of running things behind them.
Here is what stands out in this course.
Accounting and bookkeeping basics plus a full Certificate in Xero. A client's invoices and reconciliations stop being off limits.
Ten topics on planning, running and closing projects, plus stakeholder communication and decision making.
You can add the Certificate in Digital Marketing with AI: content with AI, Google and Meta advertising, and conversion rate optimisation.
Certificate of Achievement · The Career Academy
Awarded by the college when you finish the diploma.
The official one, opened up because the college is a Xero Partner.
Your certificate comes with a SEEK Pass link. Put it on SEEK, where employers look.
Send an enquiry and a course advisor gets back to you with the course guide and straight answers on whether it fits.
Start anytime. Pay on a flexible weekly plan, or pay upfront in one payment.
Work through the courses online at your own pace, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours.
Complete the diploma and receive your Certificate of Achievement, plus a SEEK Pass link you can share on SEEK.
None needed. You do not need admin work behind you, and you do not need to have used Xero. It starts from the basics and builds through each course.
The payment plan is $29 a week, with no deposit and no credit check. You can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly, or pay upfront in one payment. Enquire for the full options.
Around 250 hours at your own pace, with 12 months of access. It is the biggest of the business courses here, so give yourself room.
No. The Certificate in Digital Marketing with AI is the optional one. Take it if client marketing is work you want, and leave it if it is not.
Yes. The diploma includes a full Certificate in Xero, and the college is a Xero Partner, so access to Xero's official Advisor Certification comes with it.
The course is online and self paced. There are no fixed class times. You fit it around work and family, then pick it back up when things settle down.
There are none, ever. You are assessed on what you understand, with tutor support behind you.
It is accredited by ICOES and the CPD Standards Office, which is accreditation for professional development. It is not NZQA accredited, so it is not a national qualification. That is a different thing. For virtual assistant work it is no barrier: clients hire on whether you can take the job off their plate.
Yes. There is a 10-day money back guarantee. If it is not right, you get your money back.
This course is delivered by The Career Academy, an online course provider in New Zealand.
The college has been running for over 15 years and works with more than 25,000 students a year. Courses are online and self paced, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours. Career coaching opens as soon as you enrol, including CV help and a LinkedIn profile review.
Picture the first client who stops worrying about their inbox because it is yours now, and pays you every month to keep it that way.