Business Studies

Double Award AVCE

General Information
Intermediate GNVQ is a one-year course and equivalent to 4 GCSE A-C grades. It covers a wide range of business issues and is timetabled for 14 and a quarter hours per week. It is an excellent base for advanced study.

Are there any special requirements?
No, we assume that no one has studied this subject before - although if you have you may find this helpful. There is no evidence to suggest that students who have studied the subject prior to enrolment perform any better than those who have not done so.

What will I be studying?
The Double Award consists of both the single award units shown previously and the double units shown below:

Customer Service:
This unit explores customer service within business organisations.
Team based enterprise A team based unit where students are required to set up and run their own business.

Promoting Business Activities:
Investigates how businesses promote the organisation and produce. This unit allows students to create their own provisional plan.

Business Planning:
As part of this Unit students produce a business plan for an enterprise of their own choice.

Market Research:
This Unit explores the means through which business collect information on customers and potential customers.

Training and Development:
This unit gives students the opportunity to study training methods used in organisations and includes external visits.

Market Research:
This unit conducts an amount of research in a business related issue.

What skills will I need and be developing during the course?
Students extend their research skills and the ability to plan their work and meet set deadlines. IT skills are developed through the use of computer packages and the Internet. Communication is evident in all units as students produce reports and on occasion participate in group presentations. In addition, the financial units will develop basic numeracy skills.

How is the course assessed?
The course is assessed in a variety of methods;
Two thirds of the units are internally assessed through coursework that involves students producing individual projects. A third is externally assessed through case study examinations and timed assignments.

What career opportunities are there?

• Many of the students completing this course chose to continue their study of business by pursuing degree and HND courses at universities and further education colleges. Likely degree/HNDs range from the more general Business Studies to Applied Management as well as more specialised options such as Human Resources and Marketing.
• There are varied career options, including general management, marketing, personnel, finance and administration.
• A number of students choose to go directly into employment gaining places on management training schemes or as accountancy trainees.