Business and Enterprise

Business and Enterprise: SFEDI Programme

The University of the West of Scotland is the only university in Scotland approved by SFEDI (Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative) to deliver its Diploma in Business and Enterprise Support. While the Diploma is designed to enhance the capacity of organisations operating in an increasingly complex business-support landscape, it is also relevant to organisations with a wider economic development remit. The programme of study is designed to be flexible, relevant and current; and sets business support within a framework of theory, policy and practice. Business support is contextualised within issues such as: local economic development; the importance of productivity to a region’s welfare and the rationale for public sector support.

For staff the Diploma provides the opportunity to broaden their knowledge regarding the bigger picture of business support services on a local, regional and national scale. It also equips them with the skills to operate more autonomously and pro-actively, enabling their organisation to better manage the increasingly complex interface between delivery organisation and client demand.

The successor to the ‘Premier Advisor’ programme, the Diploma in Business and Enterprise Support qualification attracts SCQF Level 8 recognition enabling possible direct entry (through accredited prior learning) to year three of our degree in Applied Enterprise and thence to post-graduate study at Certificate, Diploma and MSc level. Thus, the Diploma provides a first CPD rung on the Higher education ladder.

During the Programme, participants become UWS students with full access to all library and online support services, including email address and Moodle. All material (printed and online) is provided.

The Diploma is ideal for organisations that:

• Are engaged in business support or economic development
• Require staff to operate autonomously, identifying and solving the needs of clients
• Have cross-departmental functions involving wider issues of economic development
• Provide high-level CPD for key staff that helps to build organisational capacity

The Diploma is ideal for staff that:

• Wish to achieve a formal recognition of their skills set
• Want to work towards a higher-level qualification as part of their CPD
• Need to contextualise their knowledge of business support within a framework of economic development
• Are required to develop a more pro-active approach to client support consistent with national and EU policy initiatives
• Look to Identify and deliver client-focused solutions

Testimonials:

"The Diploma has joined everything up for me. I mean that I can now see where what I am doing in my job is not only linked to the local authority’s vision and objectives but closely to the Scottish Government’s economic policy and frameworks." Diploma participant.

"I found the diploma really widened my knowledge about economic development and economic growth. Although I have been a business advisor for 10 years this is not an area I have studied before and thus it was very reassuring to be able to put the work that I do into a wider economic context. Quite often priorities and targeted areas in terms of support don’t always make sense at an advisory level and thus it was useful to see the wider context from which these strategies and targets have been developed." Diploma participant.

The Diploma Programme:

The Programme is designed to be flexible, relevant and current. Delivery of the programme involves 5 full-day sessions over a five month period followed by two individual work-based assessment visits. Assessment is designed around the workplace, enabling Diploma participants to contextualise and apply their learning to live cases. To achieve the Diploma in Business and Enterprise Support at SCQF Level 8 participants will be required to successfully complete the 5 mandatory units listed below. Evidence for this qualification is gathered and mapped against the SFEDI Business Gateway Assessment Strategy.

Delivery

To complete the Diploma's 5 units requires the Learner to complete 96 'guided learning' hours for accreditation of 9 SCQF Level 8 credits. The 96 guided learning hours consist of a blend of class-based delivery, on-site monitoring activity and on-site assessment and self-study.

Entry Requirements

While there is no formal entry requirement, it is likely that participants will be working in business support or a related area. 

For more information about future courses please contact the School of Business & Enterprise.