Careers Brief - Business & Management FdA

Overview

The Foundation degree in Business and Management offers you the opportunity for progression onto an Honours degree programme or direct job entry, although the advantages of being an Honours graduate can be significant for career entry.

Career opportunities for business students are widespread across all areas of industry, commerce and the public sector. Success in your course will not only have given you knowledge of business, but also you will have demonstrated key employability skills and competencies in demand by employers.

You can further your prospects by selecting relevant subject options and gaining appropriate level work experience (or an industrial placement).

Business management and finance Honours graduates are least likely to suffer from any recession in graduate recruitment and employment remains among the highest from graduate disciplines.

Key areas of employment include: accountancy; finance; marketing and sales; public relations and advertising; retail management; buying; human resources; logistics and transport; information technology and management consultancy.

For an overview of related industry sectors, go to National Guidance Research Forum for 'LMI Future trends' and 'Sectors covered'.

Go to the website links below to find out more. Also refer to related Careers Briefs of interest to you.

Be aware that many of the multi-national companies start their recruitment programme for graduate trainees from the Autumn Term of the final year. If you plan to continue onto one-year top-up honours degree or final year honours degree, you should be prepared for job-hunting before you start your final year.

Go to the Employability section of this Careers Guide for help and advice.

To clarify your personal career direction or to consider a wider choice of careers, use the Prospects Planner or other tools in the Careers Planning section of this Careers Guide.

Further Study

You will be able to apply for a Top-up degree. Top-up degrees are designed as direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Honours (or Ordinary) degree, though entry may be selective.

Alternatively, you could transfer onto a related Honours degree course. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses.

Go to http://onlineservices.bournemouth.ac.uk/courses/ for information on the BA (Hons) Business and Management Top-up degree at Bournemouth University.

Other institutions offering related Top-ups include:

Birmingham City University; Blackburn College; University of Bolton; Bradford College; University of Brighton; Brooksby Melton College; Buckinghamshire New University; Cardiff Metropolitan University; University of Central Lancashire; Cornwall College; Coventry University; University of Cumbria; University of Derby; Duchy College;

Farnborough College of Technology; University of Glamorgan, Cardiff & Pontypridd; University of Gloucestershire; University of Greenwich; Guildford College; Harper Adams University College; University of Hertfordshire; University of Huddersfield; University of Kent;

Leeds Metropolitan University; London South Bank University; Manchester College; Middlesex University; Newcastle College; New College Durham; New College Nottingham; Northbrook College Sussex; Northumbria University; Norwich City College of Further & Higher Education;

Oxford Brookes University; Pembrokeshire College; Royal Agricultural College; Somerset College of Arts & Technology; Southampton Solent University; Staffordshire University; University of Sunderland; University of West London; Wakefield College; Warwickshire College; Wigan & Leigh College; University of Winchester; York College.

To search degree courses go to www.ucas.com/ (UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use the university/college links for course details.

You will need to use UCAS to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.

Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Go to the university/college links for information on course costs and finance and to the Financial support section for additional help .

Alternatively, you could consider 'topping up' your Foundation degree to Honours through distance learning with the Open University. You could be awarded up to 240 credits of OU study at level 3 to achieve an Honours degree. This would also give you the opportunity to take up employment. Go to www.open.ac.uk/ to search undergraduate courses and credit transfer.

With a good Honours degree (First or 2.1), you may progress onto an appropriate higher level degree to attain a Masters and/or PhD doctorate. This could be to develop your area of study to a more in-depth practical and/or academic level or to gain other specialist training.

For information on postgraduate study and finance, go to the national online directory at www.prospects.ac.uk/study.htm .

Useful Links

http://mycareerhub.bournemouth.ac.uk/

Bournemouth University Graduate Employment Service - job news, campus events, part-time work, placement, graduate jobs, ask a question, book an appointment

www.prospects.ac.uk/starting_out.htm

Graduate Prospects - national careers website for HE students studying in the UK:

Drop down 'Careers advice' for 'Options with your subject'

Drop down 'Job sectors' for 'Business and management' and related sectors

http://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/

Next Step careers site - go to sub-heading 'Planning your career' and 'Job Profiles' for useful summaries of related job roles within section links 'Administrative and Clerical' and 'Management and Planning'

www.directions.org.uk/careers

FPS (Financial Services Partnership) - the Sector Skills Council for finance, accountancy and financial services

www.mca.org.uk/

MCA - Management Consultancies Association - go to sub-heading CAREERS & JOBS

www.urthebrand.co.uk/

The Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing student site - go to sub-heading 'Want a job?'

www.mrs.org.uk/careers/career.htm

MRS - Market Research Society careers section

www.aqr.org.uk/

AQR - The Association for Qualitative Research - go to sub-heading 'Jobs' for 'Graduate Pack'

www.cim.co.uk/

CIM - The Chartered Institute of Marketing