Evaluate a range of ways to embed elements of functional skills in your specialist area.
Specialist area: Business and Enterprise Management.
Through setting up and running their own company students have a firsthand experience of the principal learning in the following topics:
˛ Business enterprise
˛ Business administration
˛ Personal finance and financial services
˛ Teams and communication in business
˛ Customer service
˛ Sales
˛ Preparing for work
˛ Business communication
˛ Business finance and accounting
˛ Marketing and sales
˛ Teams in business
˛ Corporate social responsibility – employers and employees
˛ Responding to change in business
˛ Success/People at work
Within these topics functional skills are introduced. English skills can be developed by use of diagnostics to illustrate how participants learn, self evaluation activities and reflective writing. The students will contribute to group discussions, take notes, research the market and learn reasoning and negotiation techniques.
A shop is set up so the students can role play where they will be dealing with money. Accounts have to be set up and the students will work out the profit and loss.(We will have a group discussion around this) They will have to be flexible and will approach problems they may come across and see things from a different points of view in addition to tackling these problems with confidence. This role play is a perfect to introduce maths.
Again through this role play the students will have to communicate verbally ,listen and read (the shopping list ) they will self evaluate and a group discussion will take place around this , peers can also give a writing evaluation.
ICT skills are also used in this programme as the students carry out the market research on the internet and promotional materials will be designed and printed as well as logos and price lists.