Case studies

I loved economics at school, so when I found out about the Advanced Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance it really appealed to me. I like the idea of learning in different ways, and about a subject I’m into. Plus I can still take an A level in Psychology as part of the Additional and Specialist Learning, as I hoped.

What will I learn?

As part of my Principal Learning one of the ten units I'll cover is about careers and employment. It fits with my interest in people and psychology, and we'll look at preparing for work after education, too.

Other units include communications, accounting, marketing and sales plus customer service – so all the skills you need to run a business, and work in one.

I'm going to do two work placements as part of my Diploma course. The first is with a small local business near my house. And the second will be with a massive management consultancy with offices all over the world.

They're going to show me how they help other companies with staff problems and the tests people take when they're going for a job

What am I looking forward to?

I've got a great idea for my project. I'm going to use my work placement at the management consultancy to research different kinds of employment tests. I want to find out if they really work and put my results into a presentation. I'll also be able to use it for my Psychology A level too, so everything I'm studying all links up together.

What will I do afterwards?

If I'm still enjoying my studies when I finish, I'd like to go on to do a BA (Hons) in Business Management (Human Resources). My ultimate ambition is to come up with a new way to select employees, not just using tests, and run my own consultancy one day.

This case study is an illustration of how and why a student might decide to do a Diploma; it does not refer to a real individual. To talk through your own specific study or career goals, you can seek further advice and check local availability with your teacher or Connexions Adviser.

I like watching The Apprentice when it’s on TV - the sales challenges are the best. I can imagine doing it myself one day.

I’ve chosen to study the Foundation Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance. I’ll get to carry out a project where we set up a company at school, which will be great (and a bit like the show.)

What will I learn?

There's a part of the course I'm really looking forward to, which is all about business enterprise. This is for my Principal Learning, and I'll study five different areas altogether. They teach us about the many skills you need to be great at business, like Sir Alan Sugar.

For my Additional and Specialist learning, I'm doing an Applied French GCSE. It's spoken in tons of countries and one day I might like to travel, so French really appeals to me. You can pick subjects that you're into for this part of the Diploma; and that's another reason why I wanted to do it.

What am I looking forward to?

Work experience in a real business will be great. I've chosen one that sells stationery, and photocopies and prints documents for its customers.

What I'm most looking forward to is working in a project group at school to set up a company. I haven't really worked in a team much before so it will be good to make new friends.

I'm hoping to get a management role in our business project, because when I watch The Apprentice I always come up with better ideas. We'll each make a presentation about our roles afterwards, saying what we did, how and why.

What will I do afterwards?

I want to get into business, and I'm interested in the financial side of it. At the same time I want to start work as soon as possible to get more experience, so I'm thinking of doing a Level 2 Financial Services Apprenticeship.

This case study is an illustration of how and why a student might decide to do a Diploma; it does not refer to a real individual. To talk through your own specific study or career goals, you can seek further advice and check local availability with your teacher or Connexions Adviser.

I haven’t done as much schooling as other people; I didn’t get on too well with the lessons. But I’ve decided to do the Higher Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance, now that I’ve got my confidence back up.

I think it will help me to apply what I’m learning in a real situation, and give me a bit of a head start when it comes to work. I also like the routine of office administration and finance roles.

What will I learn?

We learn about all aspects of a business environment, from team working and product marketing to financial services and researching concepts and ideas. It’s for the Principal Learning part of my Diploma course.

I’ll also do a Level 2 Diploma in accounting and a Level 2 Certificate in payroll for my Additional and Specialist Learning.

What am I looking forward to?

The school has found me a work experience placement in a large insurance company.

I’m nervous but they have arranged for me to have a mentor who will support me along the way. Rather than do a full week, I’ll be going for one day a week for 20 weeks. I can try out different departments like accounts and payroll during that time.

The company has even suggested a project for me. They are paying overtime to a lot of staff and wonder if it would be better to employ more people instead. So I’m going to work out the costs of overtime against employing more staff, and give them a report of my findings. They will produce the official report, but it will give me a chance to have a go at something real.

What will I do afterwards?

I would like to carry on learning. There are a lot of opportunities to take courses in finance, so I’m probably going to do Level 3 qualifications in accounting, computerised payroll and financial management.

This case study is an illustration of how and why a student might decide to do a Diploma; it does not refer to a real individual. To talk through your own specific study or career goals, you can seek further advice and check local availability with your teacher or Connexions Adviser.