Statement of purpose - Level 3 Extended Certificate
Qualification objective
The objective of this qualification is:
- preparing learners to progress to a qualification in the same subject area but at a higher level or requiring more specific knowledge, skills and understanding
- meeting relevant programmes of learning
- preparing learners for employment
- giving learners personal growth and engagement in learning.
Who is this qualification for?
This qualification is aimed at 16-18 learners who are in full-time Level 3 education and who wish to progress to higher education and/or pursue a career in business and/or business-related subjects (eg management, finance, entrepreneurship). There are no formal entry requirements for this qualification, but, ideally, a learner will typically have four GCSEs at grade C or above including maths and English.
This substantial vocational qualification provides a broader and deeper understanding of business knowledge and skills to support progress to higher education and is suitable for learning alongside other Level 3 qualifications, ie A levels and/or other Level 3 vocational qualifications (such as accounting, sociology, psychology, languages, leisure and tourism, health and social care, retail etc). This qualification can also prepare people to take up employment in business and entrepreneurship, either directly after achieving the qualification or via higher education at university or college.
Studying this qualification will enable learners to develop the fundamental knowledge and skills recognised as most important by higher education and employers. The qualification also offers learners an opportunity to develop transferable skills, such as teamwork, research and communication, as part of their applied learning.
What does this qualification cover?
Five of the six units making up this qualification are mandatory. Learners must choose one optional unit from a range of three to complete the six units required for the qualification.
Three out of the six units making up this qualification comprise the AQA Level 3 Certificate in Applied Business.
We have worked with stakeholders in the design of this qualification to ensure that it covers both:
- fundamental business and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills associated with working within a business enterprise
- a broader range of business and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills designed to both complement and build on the units comprising the AQA Level 3 Certificate in Applied Business.
In the qualification, the learner will cover topics such as:
- the role of finance in planning an enterprise, analysing and making financial decisions
- how business organisations use the human, physical and financial resources at their disposal to achieve their dynamic goals
- the nature of enterprising behaviour and how this can be personally utilised to best exploit entrepreneurial opportunities within specific market conditions.
- how managers organise, motivate and lead employees through change to achieve business objectives
- the skills and processes required to develop, present and evaluate a business proposal
- the skills and processes required to develop an e-business proposal for a new business
- the planning, coordination and management of a one-off event to support a business proposal
- the development of a marketing communications mix for a business proposal and a schedule of marketing communications
Each unit is based on four key business themes: people, markets, finance and operational delivery, which ensure that the qualification has a synoptic approach to learning. Each of the qualification's units address aspects of these key themes to ensure that learning content is coherent and joined up.
Unit 5 Developing a business proposal is the qualification's synoptic assessment unit. Undertaken with, and integrated into, the learner's chosen optional unit (either Unit 6, 7 and 8), the learner is required to apply the business knowledge and skills acquired in Units 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In particular, Unit 3 offers the learner the opportunity to pursue further the business idea developed in the synoptic assessment for the Certificate qualification.
In having Unit 5 Developing a business proposal at the heart of the Extended Certificate, this offers learners opportunities for practical integration of assessment in relation to the learner's chosen optional unit. This promotes significant synoptic assessment and enhances the applied character of the qualification as the learner's business proposal is both tested by the practical requirements of the optional unit and reviewed/revised in light of the consequences of this testing.
Consequently, the learner will undertake a programme of assessment designed to assess not only their knowledge and understanding of business, but also of the way in which this knowledge and understanding can now play an active part in the detailed planning and delivery of a product or a service.
What could this qualification lead to?
This qualification supports entry to a range of business and enterprise associated higher education courses, such as management, finance, entrepreneurship, economics etc when taken alongside other qualifications and is confirmed by the specific support of a number of universities. In addition, the qualification carries UCAS points ucas.com
Who supports this qualification?
This qualification has been developed in collaboration with higher education and other stakeholders in the business education sector. Because of this, the knowledge and skills gained will provide the best possible opportunity for progress into higher education or employment.
The following institutions and organisations have helped develop and formally support the AQA Level 3 Extended Certificate in Applied Business:
Leeds Beckett University
University of Buckingham
University of Bath
University of Liverpool
Birmingham City University
Staffordshire University
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
University of Huddersfield
University of Wolverhampton
University of Surrey
Edge Hill University
Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE)
Young Enterprise
What are the benefits of this qualification?
To learners
The AQA Level 3 Extended Certificate in Applied Business will give learners the opportunity to learn and understand a broad range of business and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills associated with working within a business enterprise.
The learner will understand the way in which any venture in business (big or small) is a function of the relationship between its people, its marketing, its finance and its ability to deliver operationally upon its commitments.
In the Certificate qualification, the learner will undertake a programme of assessment designed to assess not only their business knowledge and understanding, but also the way in which this knowledge and understanding can be applied to shape their practical skill in thinking and realising their own plans about business. Unit 3 Entrepreneurial opportunities is the synoptic assessment unit which enables learners to demonstrate this practical initiative.
The Extended Certificate qualification offers the learner the opportunity to build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the Certificate qualification (eg Managing and developing people begins to address key areas in the management and leadership of business staff) and also build on their business idea developed in the Certificate qualification. Unit 5 Developing a business proposal is the synoptic assessment unit. Drawing on skills and knowledge from all other units, it enables learners to build their business idea into a concrete proposal.
The link between Unit 5 Developing a business proposal and the learner's choice of optional units offers further opportunities to develop the realism of the exercise, and to undertake their learning experience in a fully integrated way. It's here that learners can derive the true practical value of the qualification and, finally, (if they wish) develop a business proposal that could be turned into a real business.
The learner will study the course as a part of a learning programme that will also include other subjects. The learner's choice of subjects (where business–related) will complement study of this qualification and help develop a range of skills and knowledge relevant to the business sector.
To higher education institutions (HEIs)
The development of the AQA Level 3 Extended Certificate in Applied Business has been supported by a wide range of contributing HEIs (see above), ensuring that the qualification is current, relevant and offers the best progression opportunities to Higher Education.
Each unit is based on four key business themes: people, markets, finance and operational delivery, which ensure that the qualification has a synoptic approach to learning. Each of the qualification's units address aspects of these key themes to ensure that learning content is coherent and joined up.
In the Certificate qualification, the learner will undertake a programme of assessment designed to assess not only their business knowledge and understanding, but also the way in which this knowledge and understanding can be applied to shape their practical skill in thinking and realising their own plans about business. Unit 3 Entrepreneurial opportunities is the synoptic assessment unit which enables learners to demonstrate this practical initiative.
The Extended Certificate offers the learner the opportunity to build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the Certificate qualification and also build on their business idea developed in the Certificate qualification (through Unit 3 Entrepreneurial opportunities). Unit 5 Developing a business proposal is the synoptic assessment unit. Drawing on skills and knowledge from all other units, it enables learners to build their business idea into a concrete proposal.
In having Unit 5 Developing a business proposal at the heart of the Extended Certificate, this offers learners opportunities for practical integration of assessment in relation to the learner's chosen optional unit. This promotes significant synoptic assessment as the learner is called upon to problem solve, manage their own time and resources and use their own personal judgment and reasoning to establish the credibility of their business proposal in relation to a much broader set of variables. This all enhances the applied character of the qualification as the learner's business proposal is both tested by the practical requirements of the optional unit and reviewed/revised in light of the consequences of this testing.
Consequently, the learner will undertake a programme of assessment designed to assess not only their knowledge and understanding of business, but also of the way in which this knowledge and understanding can now play an active part in the detailed planning and delivery of a product or a service.
The level of realism and integration means that there are further opportunities for providers to link delivery of the qualification to broader curriculum enrichment themes such as enterprise (eg Young Enterprise) and employer-based initiatives.
As this qualification contains both a significant amount of personal, integrated learning, as well as examined and assignment-based assessment (both externally and internally-assessed), the learner should be better prepared to make the adjustment to the learner-centred ethos of study at university.
