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Education NewsBusiness Administration & Finance Launch Event
Over 60 year 9 ‘budding business bods’ from local high schools: Mitchell Business & Enterprise College and Sandon Business & Enterprise College got their enterprising heads together and spent the day as VIP guests at The Quality Hotel in Hanley.
The event launched the next in the series of new Diplomas being offered in Stoke on Trent from September 2009 – The Business, Administration Finance Diploma. The Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance has been developed to provide a solid grounding in business skills for young people who are interested in any kind of business career or hope to run their own business.
Following a welcome and a briefing, the enthused 14 year olds were all put into teams and worked throughout the day with mentors from Staffordshire University, Staffordshire Partnership and Britannia Building Society, each with a vast amount of experience in the world of Business and Finance. Claire Irons - Education Manager at Britannia Building Society worked with one of the groups throughout the day. “It is a real pleasure to be invited along to such a great event and have the opportunity to engage with local young people who are interested in studying the new Business Diploma. Britannia Building Society welcomes the new course as it is a qualification that responds to employers’ needs.
The emphasis on employer involvement in delivering learning and in quality work experience will ensure that students develop skills which are relevant to what employers are looking for and it allows us to provide practical support to young people in the communities that we live and work in.”The young people were tested with a series of fun and thought-provoking competitive challenges related to the Diploma.
Each pupil had to call on a number of different skills throughout the challenges including: team working; discovering their team members strengths and weaknesses, meeting tight deadlines, answering business related questions, working under pressure, solving problems, being creative, thinking “outside of the box” and even SURVIVAL techniques - all of which are key elements of working in the world of Business, Administration & Finance.The teams were in friendly competition throughout the day and were rewarded with prizes for each of their challenge victories! Perhaps the most stimulating challenge from the day was the task to build the tallest tower using only scrap paper and sellotape - sounds like a task for the Engineering Diploma pupils rather than Business Diploma pupils??? Well, this task tested the group’s ability to: think quickly, meet a tight deadliune, work to a brief, adapt their way of thinking, listen to other people’s ideas, work as a team, be inventive and creative - All key attributes that Sir Alan Sugar himself looks for in his own business recruits.
Jayne Robinson, Lead for The Business, Administration & Finance Diploma and Curriculum Manager for Business at the City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College said: “There is a lot more to succeeding in business than popping up on Dragon’s Den. A challenge event like this, takes the time to give young people a great insight into the skills they will really need to succeed in tomorrow’s business world. It was a great opportunity to bring the pupils and the partners involved together to discover what the brand new and exciting BAF Diploma will offer.” The Diplomas are developed and delivered by a range of organisations working in partnership – local schools, Stoke on Trent College, The City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College, Staffordshire and Keele Universities, work-based learning providers and local employers – supported by Stoke on Trent City Council.
In September 2008 Stoke on Trent started to offer:
- IT
- Society Health & Development
- Construction in the Built Environment
- Engineering
In September 2009 Stoke on Trent will offer:
- Business, Administration & Finance
- Hospitality
- Manufacturing & Product Design
- Creative & Media
With further Diploma lines planned to be launched in the future.