The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) Associate Certificate in Environmental Management course is designed to raise the professional competence of aspiring and existing environmental practitioners. Successful completion entitles the individual to become an associate IEMA member. A dedicated evaluation model was developed for this focused research, in order to determine the factors which influence student attendance and success on the course. The methodology utilised the core elements of three academically proven training evaluation models to examine presage and process factors, the student's reaction to the course, and changes in knowledge, attitude and understanding. A range of personal, work-related and course-related factors were identified. These include student motivation, previous environmental experience and preferred learning style. A negative correlation was found between examination success and the need for students to also focus on work activities while attending this course. (Contains 2 figures and 5 tables.)