Students at Leeds Metropolitan University Business School
will get a chance to get ahead in the graduate job market thanks to a Certificate
in Management Consulting Essentials.
The course, offered by the Institute of Consulting, can be
taken alongside a degree and will mean that students have an added advantage
over other business graduates.
Nick Beech, a principal lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan, said:
“Academic qualifications help to demonstrate knowledge; with the Institute of
Consultancy’s qualifications, students can demonstrate the ability to apply
that knowledge in a business context.”
The scheme was initially piloted in 2011 and roughly a
quarter of students at the university’s business school have signed up.
The qualification focuses on the following areas:
- the
consultancy role
- consultant
and client relationships
- communication
- effective
project delivery
- structured
knowledge, research and analysis
- Stella Bowdell, head of the Institute of Consulting, argued that the course will help set
students apart from the graduate
talent pool, as figures show that many graduates fail to secure a role
within six months of finishing their courses.
“Having a professional qualification could open doors for
them,” she added.
Leeds Metropolitan University also runs the Business
Enhancement Scheme, which allows graduates to work on specific projects in the
local companies that range from the introduction of marketing to the
development of IT systems.
Graduates are supported throughout the project by an
academic expert, so that they can use their expertise to help businesses grow
in an uncertain economic climate.
The scheme, which has just celebrated the end of its first
project, gives graduates the opportunity to take up paid work experience
placements that can last from eight weeks to two years, designed around the
needs of employers. Projects lasting for
six months or more receive funding from Leeds Metropolitan for academic support
and administration, while businesses pay solely for direct employment-related
costs.