BTEC BUSINESS NATIONAL EXTENDED CERTIFICATE

The BTEC Business National Extended Certificate follows the EDEXCEL specification. It will allow you to gain a broad understanding of the essential knowledge and skills needed for you to progress into a variety of careers. You do not need to have studied Business at GCSE to do this course.

WHAT IS BTEC BUSINESS?

Business makes things happen and affects every part of our society. Whatever you want to do, understanding business will help you achieve it. BTEC business offers, therefore, a broad understanding of the essential knowledge and skills needed to help you begin or progress in a wide variety of business careers. The course is made up of three mandatory units which will give you an introduction to and understanding of the business environment, developing a marketing campaign and business finance – all fundamental to the success of business organisations. There will also be an optional unit chosen based on key areas of interest, for example,recruitment and selection, customer service, the English legal system.

WHY SHOULD I STUDY BTEC BUSINESS?

Whatever you do in your professional life, the chances are that it will involve some ‘business’. Scientists, engineers, even artists, will inevitably have to understand at least the basics of business, and probably a lot more.Therefore studying business could be integral to your future plans. Employers identify the need for outstanding communication skills when they are looking to recruit A level students or graduates. BTEC students are provided with opportunities to develop their communication skills as they progress through the course. This can be via presentations and discussions in which you will have the opportunity to express your opinions. You will also be encouraged to take responsibility for your own learning and achievement, which will see you become a more organised individual, capable of effective time management to enable you to hit set deadlines.

USEFUL SKILLS & INTERESTS

The most important requirements for BTEC Business are that you have an interest in the subject and a determination to work hard and develop good study skills.

COURSE STRUCTURE & CONTENT

EXTERNAL INPUT

We try to make the subject as real as possible and where possible you will be studying a number of large organisations that you will instantly recognise, you will have the opportunity to study in detail the issues that these businesses face on a daily basis. Where possible we will have guest speakers, Guru Lectures and also we aim to visit the organisations that we are studying to gain a real feel for that business.

ASSESSMENT

All the new BTEC qualifications now have exams, which is one way that the new BTECs can help prepare you for university.

The course is modular and will lead to the AS qualification in Year 1 (2 units,1 coursework and 1 controlled assessment) and then the full A level in Year 2 (after the final 2 units, 1 coursework, 1 exam).

COURSE COMMITMENT

As with normal AS to A2 programmes, the course takes one block of study in the first year and is the equivalent of one AS. This repeats in the second year to make up the full ‘A’ Level equivalent. Students are expected to commit a minimum of 4 hours additional study per week towards completing coursework assignments and preparing for the exam and controlled assessment. Interim deadlines will be set to enable work to be assessed and progress be made to the final deadlines. With support and guidance from your teachers it will be the individual student’s responsibility to ensure this work is completed fully in time for the set deadlines.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

The college requires 5 GCSE passes (old grades A* - C, new grades 4 - 9) for entrance onto this course including English Language and preferably Maths.

PROGRESSION ROUTES

Where will this take me?

Some of the students who studied this course at Prior Pursglove College progressed on to:

  • Manchester Met University – Business Management / Fashion Buying & Merchandising
  • Teesside University – Accounting & Finance / Business with Law
  • York St John University - Marketing Management

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you require further information please contact the subject leader, Janet Davison.

Please note that the information in this leaflet is correct at the time of publication, but circumstances may arise which cause us to revise our provision.

June 2017