Foundation Management Qualifications

When starting a career in any sector of business,qualification, and study content, will be an asset. You
whether it be the private, public, or non-profit makingwill have experience to offer from your time in other
sector, or an entrepreneurial business, it is essentialareas, but your qualification will be relevant to the
to have a strong foundation of business andnew one.
management knowledge. The purpose is not to giveCase Study: Higher National Certificate and Diploma. In
you a specialist level of expertise, for example inthe UK the most respected foundation qualification is
Human Resources, Finance, or Quality Management.the Higher National, comprising the Higher National
Rather it is to provide you with a sound, all-roundCertificate HNC and the Higher National Diploma HND,
understanding of the key areas of business andboth accredited by Edexcel BTEC, a prestigious
management.validation body. I will use these qualifications to
Two outcomes should be the result of studying thisillustrate how your decision on study options is so
type of course. Firstly, you will have sufficientcritical. The HNC is the introductory course, providing
knowledge and awareness of a range of disciplines,the student with basic, but essential, knowledge of
so that you can make effective operationalcritical business functions. There are many specialist
contributions to activities and discussions in thesetitles to choose from, for example E-Business
areas. Secondly, you will have enough information toStrategy, Information Technology, Law, and
make a decision about which area to specialise in, orMarketing. However, I strongly argue that for most
if you decide to remain a generalist, which areas tostudents, starting out in the world of work, the best
take further studies in.option, by far, is the HNC Business and Management.
For those just starting, or in the first few years ofWhilst esoteric titles may sound attractive, they are
work, selecting a first, introductory, foundation levelworse than useless in terms of adding to the
course of study is a critical step. If the selectedattractiveness of the student to employers, and in
course, and qualification, is not the most appropriatesome cases will be a huge disappointment because
one, this can have an highly negative impact on thethe content is irrelevant and out of date. The options
early stages of the student's career development.to consider should be those that add further
Despite the apparent attractiveness of the morefoundation knowledge of key business and
glamorous and cutting edge titles, such as E Business,management areas, such as Business Decision Making,
Network Technology, Systems Analysis and WebsiteBusiness Strategy, and Quality Management. The
Design, gaining a qualification with any of these asstudent is then armed with a strong portfolio of
the main title, or one of your main study options, willknowledge and understanding of the areas of activity
in reality be damaging in most cases. Potentialthat all managers are involved in every day. The
employers, and current ones, will not be impressedsame argument applies to the HND Higher National
by such qualification titles. Even in niche businessDiploma, which is recognised as equivalent to the first
sectors, such as internet or design related ones,two years of a Bachelor Degree. This can be taken
employers will be more impressed with youngas a stand-alone course, or as a progression from the
applicants who have a solid, all-round, broadHNC. In either case, the best option is to take the
understanding of the key functional areas of business.HND Business (Management). Again, the options
Experience, talent, specific skills, in the technical areasselected should be those in the mainstream areas,
are, of course, highly valuable, but most employersfor example in Quality Management, Project
will be looking for people who are able to contributeManagement, or Finance.
to all the main operational activities. Take forAlthough it is tempting to take a course that includes
example, website design. Unless you plan to, and arewhat appear to be exciting and current study
100% certain, that this is where your career path willoptions, or a qualification that has a glamorous focus
take you, taking this as a study option is a completein the title, it is not the best choice for most people
waste of time. Learn Dreamweaver, yes. Takein need of a foundation business qualification.
website design as an area of study in yourSpecialist knowledge can be, should be, gained a little
foundation business course? No.later, but the first step should be to gain a
Equally important in this argument is that of job andqualification that shows you understand and can
career changes. In today's business world it is nowcontribute effectively to the essential, core, areas.
accepted that most younger people will, during theirThis first qualification will stay with you throughout
lifetime at work, change jobs many times, andthe early stages of your professional development,
change careers, or business sectors, at least fourand be visible to all who are evaluating your potential.
times. With so many changes of direction in mind, itIt therefore needs to be one that demonstrates that
can only be good sense, for those seeking their first,when you decided on that course of study you were
foundation level qualification, to study and qualify inmaking a conscious decision to learn the essentials of
the core areas of business activity. Then, whenbusiness, and to give yourself the strongest possible
moving into a new role, or applying for a position in afoundation of knowledge on which to start your life
different business sector, the broad basedin the business world.