Business Skills
Foundation Apprenticeship
What's Business Skills like?
A Foundation Apprenticeship in Business Skills gives you practical and useful knowledge and experience. You can use business skills in lots of other sectors.
This qualification could lead to jobs such as:
administrative assistant
purchasing manager
management consultant
company secretary
human resources officer
local government officer
receptionist
project manager
You’ll learn about other management and business priorities, such as:
digital marketing
procurement
supply chain management
enterprise
You’ll gain a Foundation Apprenticeship in Business Skills. That's the same level of learning as an SQA Higher, at SCQF Level 6.
SCQF qualification levels explained
Your qualification includes:
a National Progression Award (NPA) in Business Skills at SCQF Level 6
a Contemporary Business Issues unit
core units of an SVQ in Business and Administration at SCQF Level 6
a work placement unit at SCQF Level 6
Your NPA in Business Skills will cover the following topics:
Understanding Business
Management of People and Finance
PC Passport: Working with IT Software – Word Processing and Presenting Information
PC Passport: Working with IT Software – Spreadsheet and Database
Contemporary Business Issues
You’ll complete the units of your SVQ in Business and Administration mainly in the workplace, as part of your placement. You’ll learn how to:
plan, manage and improve your performance
communicate
support other people to work in a business environment
design and produce documents
Your Foundation Apprenticeship will also help you develop meta-skills. Employers value these skills, which include:
communication
problem-solving
working with others
time management
You'll need these transferable skills for working in a range of other related jobs.
Your Foundation Apprenticeship gives you lots of options, including:
Modern Apprenticeship: when you complete your Foundation Apprenticeship, you’ll have achieved core units of the Modern Apprenticeship in Business Administration.
further education: continue your studies at college, with an SVQ 4 in Business & Administration. Or study another cross-sector area such as management or business HNCs or HNDs. Your workplace experience will support your college application.
university: Scottish universities recognise Foundation Apprenticeships as equal to SQA Highers. You’ll already have good experience in the industry – this will make your UCAS stand out from the crowd. This apprenticeship also provides you with 42 UCAS tariff points. Find out about points on the UCAS website
straight to a job: Use your qualification and work experience to find a job in business. Your Foundation Apprenticeship in Business Skills will also give you a good insight into other business-related subjects, such as:
digital marketing
procurement
supply chain management
enterprise
Entry requirements
If you're staying on at school, you can apply for a Foundation Apprenticeship.
How does it work?
You'll do the Foundation Apprenticeship alongside your other school subjects. You'll work on projects with an employer and a learning provider, such as a college. It'll give you an industry-recognised qualification that's great for your CV.
Read our brilliant info on the Business Skills Foundation Apprenticeship to see how it all works!
How long will it take?
You'll do your Foundation Apprenticeship over the course of S5 and S6. You'll complete a work placement of about 1 day a week in S6.
How to apply
If you're staying on at school, you can apply for a Foundation Apprenticeship.
Use the search tool to find out if this subject is available at your school. Then fill out the form that comes next, to let us know you're interested. We'll get back to you with more information.