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Business

Level 3 National Foundation Diploma / Extended Diploma in Business and Finance - St Albans

Mode of study

Full Time

Start date

08/09/2025

Entry requirements

A minimum of 4 GCSEs grade 9 - 4 including maths and English or a full Level 2 with a merit profile and grades 9 - 4 in English & maths.

Teaching staff

The course is delivered by experienced staff that have worked in a wide range of relevant areas and they draw upon this experience to ensure that the curriculum is engaging, relevant and contextualised.

Course Code

FD3BSA1F/1

Duration

1-Year

Location

St Albans Campus

Awarding body

Pearson Education Ltd (Formerly EDEXCEL)

Assessment

All students at Oaklands College take part in an initial assessment in Maths and English which helps us ensure that all learners are studying at the appropriate level. Throughout the course you will be continually assessed using a wide variety of practical and written assignments, which will test your knowledge and are used as evidence of achievment.

About the course

Students will study on the BTEC Foundation Diploma in the1st year which leads into the Extended Diploma in the 2nd year. The course provides a broad foundation in Business within the 1st year and then offers students the opportunity to specialise in a specific Business pathway in their 2nd year. Currently we offer pathways in Marketing, Finance and Mainstream Business: Marketing Pathway: The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) have agreed that all students who complete the marketing pathway will have direct access to their Level 4 CIM qualifications as they will have demonstrated relevant prior learning. Finance Pathway: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) have agreed that by following this pathway you will meet the entry requirements for the ACCA Level 4 Qualification. Mainstream Pathway: This route provides a holistic approach to Business, providing students with a broad range of topics that will support them with either progressing into employment or onto study at University.

Career options

Business students who have completed their qualification at Oaklands College have moved into a wide variety of sectors, some recent examples include: Finance: Accounting, Finance Managers, Payroll, Mortgage adviser, Stock Broker Marketing: Communications manager, Public Relations, Marketing Manager, Advertising, Event Management, Social Media Executive. Human Resource Management: Recruitment. Other careers include Project Management, Business Development Manager and Systems & Data Analysist The course also equips students with the skills needed to successfully start their own business as well as strong links into University and the opportunities that this provides.

Course Content - What will I learn?

Whilst studying Business at Oaklands College you will be exposed to a range of subject areas within the curriculum, some of the key themes include: MARKETING: Students will gain an insight into digital and social media, website design, content marketing, advertising, Public Relations, customer relationship management systems, planning, the principles of marking, target markets and segmentation and market research. ENTREPRENEURIALISM: Students will look at starting a small business, develop business ideas, legal and financial aspects of starting a business and creating a business proposal, understanding the workings of a business, the business markets, and the different functional areas of a business. FINANCE: This will include financial and business accounting, business and personal finance, accounting systems, understanding business income and expenditure, preparing a cash flow forecast, preparing profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and reviewing business performance using ratio analysis. LAW: This will include looking at a variety of aspects of the legal system such as relevant legislation, civil and criminal court structure, aspects of contact and business law and the role and function of court personnel and case studies relating to this. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: This will look at employment law, planning, employee motivation, managing employee performance, recruitment and selection, development planning and HR Management. MANAGEMENT: This includes training and developing teams, managing an event and project management, leadership theories and team dynamics, understanding leadership attributes and skills, effective communication and team working, creating objectives and effective skills.
Alongside your course you'll study English and maths at the level appropriate to you and take part in work placements to develop your skills and confidence.

Please contact us to find out if you require any specific equipment for this particular course.

All students at Oaklands College take part in an initial assessment in Maths and English which helps us ensure that all learners are studying at the appropriate level. Throughout the course you will be continually assessed using a wide variety of practical and written assignments, which will test your knowledge and are used as evidence of achievment.