If you are unsure of what career to go into, or if you just want to boost your skills, then a business qualification is an excellent way to impress prospective employers. There are courses available in the professions of the moment – e-commerce and HR management – but old favourites such as marketing and business studies are still pulling in the numbers.
Business Studies
So which subject to choose Well, if you have given up on being a fireman but you’re still not sure what career to plump for, then an excellent qualification to aim towards is one in Business Studies. The ultimate choice for those who can’t commit, you get to sample an exotic array of business topics, such as marketing, accounting, information technology, economics and foreign languages. As well as boosting your currency as a Phone a Friend, this will also help you find out where your talents lie. For example, you may discover that you were born to account, or find out that you can’t sell a glass of water to a burning monk.
Don’t worry about becoming a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. Cost-conscious employers love a bit of multi-tasking and actively seek out well-rounded, preferably spherical graduates. Practically every field requires adaptable employees with good all-round business sense, who are up-to-date on new technologies and procedures; Kilroy’s College is just one of many that offers business studies.
Search for part time business courses in the National Courses Database.
Marketing
Marketing is not its end result – i. e. advertisements, PR and promotions. Marketing involves focussing on your client’s needs and deciding how best to promote their product. This involves researching the needs of their customers, identifying the advantages of their product, selecting the correct customer base to target and finding the best way to encourage them to buy the car/table/monkey.
Marketing is one of the fastest growing industries in Ireland; and so it is quickly becoming a popular part time course option; the Communications and Management Institute (CMI) has caught on to this trend.
Search for part time marketing courses in Ireland and online.
E-commerce
E-commerce is not a Yorkshire farmer’s description of trade, but rather an all-encompassing term for the art of doing business online. A course in the subject will teach you how to set up a web shop, an interactive site where Internet surfers can purchase goods online. If you are considering setting up online, learning how to do it right is a must. The dotcom collapse proved to us that the Internet is not the golden e-goose that everyone thought. If even the best of websites aren’t safe, what chance will you have if all you have is a boxroom full of Dolly Mix and an IOL account
A course will teach you how to generate a realistic e-commerce plan – for example, does the Internet really need another site dedicated to Irish tat Are your leprechauns and shillelaghs going to make your fortune
You will also study how to create a site design, deal with tax, shipping and credit card payments and decide whether to rent, buy or build an e-commerce solution to handle site transactions.
Browse e-commerce courses in Ireland and online.
Human Resource Management (HRM)
Formerly known as the personnel manager, the HR manager now does a lot more than eat truffles behind closed doors, laugh at CVs and fire staff for making eye contact over the coffee maker. This increasingly pivotal role requires new knowledge and skills to cope with demanding employees and companies.
A course will typically teach you how to hire and fire – it should deal with recruitment strategies, selection interviews and discipline and grievance procedures. You will also learn about motivating the staff. This can involve bonuses, bribes and downright sucking up. You may have to stand behind them, cheering every keystroke. Your course will teach you tactics and the right mix of carrot and stick to use to obtain optimum performance.
Training is another area that a HR course will deal with. Talking to employees about planning their career and then setting up relevant training schemes to help them pursue their goals is one of the ultimate ways of achieving employee satisfaction. You will learn about the different training types, such as e-learning and mentor programmes, and also how to tailor existing programs to meet individual needs.
Search for human resource management courses in Ireland and online.
