Level 3 National Foundation Diploma / Extended Diploma in Business and Finance – Welwyn Garden City

Overview

Students will study on the BTEC Foundation Diploma in the 1st year which leads into the Extended Diploma in the 2nd year.
The course provides a broad foundation in Business within the 1st year and then offers students the opportunity to specialise in a specific Business pathway in their 2nd year.

Currently we offer pathways in Marketing, Finance and Mainstream Business:

Marketing Pathway:
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) have agreed that all students who complete the marketing pathway will have direct access to their Level 4 CIM qualifications as they will have demonstrated relevant prior learning.

Finance Pathway:
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) have agreed that by following this pathway you will meet the entry requirements for the ACCA Level 4 Qualification.

Mainstream Pathway:
This route provides a holistic approach to Business, providing students with a broad range of topics that will support them with either progressing into employment or onto study at University.

Course Content - What will I learn?

Whilst studying Business at Oaklands College you will be exposed to a range of subject areas within the curriculum, some of the key themes include:

MARKETING: Students will gain an insight into digital and social media, website design, content marketing, advertising, Public Relations, customer relationship management systems, planning, the principles of marking, target markets and segmentation and market research.

ENTREPRENEURIALISM: Students will look at starting a small business, develop business ideas, legal and financial aspects of starting a business and creating a business proposal, understanding the workings of a business, the business markets, and the different functional areas of a business.

FINANCE: This will include financial and business accounting, business and personal finance, accounting systems, understanding business income and expenditure, preparing a cash flow forecast, preparing profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and reviewing business performance using ratio analysis.

LAW: This will include looking at a variety of aspects of the legal system such as relevant legislation, civil and criminal court structure, aspects of contact and business law and the role and function of court personnel and case studies relating to this.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: This will look at employment law, planning, employee motivation, managing employee performance, recruitment and selection, development planning and HR Management.

MANAGEMENT: This includes training and developing teams, managing an event and project management, leadership theories and team dynamics, understanding leadership attributes and skills, effective communication and team working, creating objectives and effective skills.

Am I right for the course?

You will need to have a genuine interest in business and entrepreneurship and be able to work as part of a team. You need to be willing to undertake group and individual presentations, commit to excellent attendance, have good time-keeping and dedicate yourself to the successful completion of assignments to the prescribed deadline are essential to succeed on this course.

Four GCSEs at Grade 4 / C or above including Mathematics and English, or a Level 2 qualification in business or a related vocational area

Alongside your course you’ll study English and maths at the appropriate level for you and take part in work placements to develop your skills and confidence.

The course is delivered by experienced staff that have worked in a wide range of relevant areas and they draw upon this experience to ensure that the curriculum is engaging, relevant and contextualised.

What Next?

Business students who have completed their qualification at Oaklands College have moved into a wide variety of sectors, some recent examples include:

Finance: Accounting, Finance Managers, Payroll, Mortgage adviser, Stock Broker

Marketing: Communications manager, Public Relations, Marketing Manager, Advertising, Event Management, Social Media Executive.

Human Resource Management: Recruitment.

Other careers include Project Management, Business Development Manager and Systems & Data Analysist
The course also equips students with the skills needed to successfully start their own business as well as strong links into University and the opportunities that this provides.

Ready to take the next step?

Reaching your career goals is just a click away.

Fees

16-18 years old, no tuition fees apply to Full Time courses and fees subject to confirmation. Additional costs applicable to BHS courses.

For all two year courses fees shown above are per year.

Aged 19+ and planning to take a level 3 or above a different fee may apply. You may be eligible for an Advanced Learning Loan.

All HE courses (full and part time) are subject to tuition fees.

In need of more advice?

Contact our Admissions team to find out more about student fees and how they might apply to you.

Experience what the future
has to offer at Oaklands College

Studying at Oaklands is about finding out what you enjoy learning, with a huge range of courses including A Levels, BTECs and Apprenticeships our students are given the opportunity to make their own academic choices, and thrive in a subject they enjoy.

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