What a qualification in business can do for you

Regenesys Business School believes that education is the greatest equaliser in addressing the social and economic disparity in South Africa and the African continent. The Business School serves society by uplifting people out of poverty and empowering them to live successful lives with purpose through Education.

Now you are probably reading this and thinking to yourself: That’s all very well, I’m young, I’ve got good school-leaving results, and I am ambitious. But I can’t afford it. I don’t even have a regular job. How in earth am I going to be able to undertake expensive business studies? This is all very well for other people with rich parents, but I can’t even think about studying further at a prestigious business school. And there’s a Covid-19 epidemic going on around us.

Let’s stop you right there. Yes, things might look difficult for you right now. But you should never give up hope. We are going to share with you how you might get around these seemingly insurmountable barriers and on to the career of your dreams.

Let’s start with some facts about higher education and busines education.

Dr Miriam Altman is a South African economist, businessperson, social activist, and strategist. She is a Commissioner on the National Planning Commission in the Office of the Presidency. She is right at the heart of the challenges in the South African economy. Dr Altman points out that when a young person from a low-income community gets access to a higher education opportunity, it is the single most important course to reduce poverty and inequality, and promote intergenerational asset accumulation and class transformation.

The traditional methods of securing tertiary education will mean that young black graduates will be saddled with extensive debt just as they are attempting to lift off in their careers. Novel ways of getting around this will have to be found.

Think about that for a moment. Assisting poor students into higher education is the most powerful approach to achieving shared prosperity. If you got into higher education, you will be on your path to prosperity!

But what is business education at tertiary level? What do you study? What is the benefit? And what will you be able to do – your career – when you graduate.

Official statistics suggest that business management is one of the most popular courses amongst university students worldwide. The reason for its popularity is that the knowledge and skill gained in a business qualification allow successful graduates to work across the board – from old age homes to steel smelters, from breweries to banks and family grocery stores to multinational corporations. There is hardly an endeavour that does not require business kills.

If you study business, you will learn about the activities and responsibilities of running an organisation, which include implementation, controlling, developing, monitoring, organising, delegating and so on. The skills taught in business school are also highly applicable to daily life. Families, professional associations, sports clubs and interest groups all need people who can provide leadership and get things done.

Business studies will help you become a more effective leader, team player, and interpersonal communicator. You will learn how to effectively manage people. It will give you a competitive edge when an organisation has to choose between two candidates for a prime job; it will open up your options to a variety of excellent career opportunities.

Completing an accredited course in business studies will equip you for the dynamic corporate world. Being part of a business is the key to success. Not just at work, but in the sort of life you can bring to your family. A business education doesn’t just teach you about economics and marketing and finance, You also learn about,

Business ethics
Communication skills
Computer (tech) skills
Leadership and managerial skills
Public speaking and presentations
Research and analysis
Time management
Writing skills
Brainstorming

Where do you start?

A ladder of learning will take you up the business of success. You can start with a certificate programme. It usually takes one year, and you can find out if business is really for you. Then there are undergraduate degrees in business administration. This are longer and tougher. Three years is the time it takes. But then you have a powerful qualification; imagine seeing the letters B.B.A behind your name. That alone will give you so much confidence. Then there are the postgraduate diplomas and of course, the flagship MBA, that most coveted of all business qualifications, that sets people apart from all the rest.

With a business qualification, you will earn more, and do more interesting work. You will also be set up for a dynamic career path, as far as your skills and hard work can take you.

Perhaps you have a unique concept and you want to start your own business. A business qualification will round you out to be able to cope with the multiple demands and challenges of starting or running your own business. Starting a business is not for the faint-hearted, but you stand a better chance of success with a business qualification under your belt.

The world is becoming ever more competitive. You have to have a qualification that makes you stand out from the crowd and which will stand you in good stead as your career progresses. A business qualification will do that for you.

A business qualification will certainly help you earn more money, but that should not be your only reason for study. Financial success takes hard work and persistence, and then the money will come.

There is an interesting and beneficial effect when people move into valued employment. Your qualification will determine the job you hold, your income and your role in employment. Apart from buying groceries and paying off your loans for a house and car; you also enjoy leisure time, you travel and you make investments for your future. You also pay taxes. All this combines to make for a thriving economy and makes your own future more secure.

Through business studies, students get a new and practical perspective of the many subjects they have or will study. These include technology, mathematics, science, and social studies and language. The subject facilitates the student’s understanding of these subjects in the context of the business world.

Our world is full of more and more complex global, social, and environmental issues.

A business education will teach crucial life skills that include problem-solving, teamwork, empathy. These will help you navigate this uncertain future.

A dynamic education in business skills encourages creativity, innovation, and collaboration. These important human skills are needed in just about every area of human endeavour.

Problem-solving is a critical life skill. Business is all about solving problems, and understanding that the solution to one problem and becomes the next problem.

Getting through a programme of business studies is hard work. It is tough. You will have to expand your mind to new concepts and new techniques. All this breeds persistence, the spirit of being able to drive through the challenges and stress and emerge stronger and wiser on the other side. This is what it takes to succeed in life. By getting a qualification, you will demonstrate to potential employers that you have what it takes.

Businesses create jobs, they provide products, they pay salaries and pay taxes. Businesses are an essential part of society. By being part of a business, you make the world a better place.

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What can you expect to study on a typical business studies programme?

The content will vary from institution to institution, but most of the following will be covered in one form or another:

Accounting – understanding how a business records, organises and understands its financial information

Business Law – to promote an understanding of the laws affecting contracts, regulations and business.

Career Development – to understand to self-awareness, career strategy, workplace expectations and life- long learning.

Communications –the development of reading, writing, speaking, listening and presentation skills including digital networks and the Internet

Economics and Personal Finance – understand what makes for wise economic decisions related to personal finances, the successful operation of organisations

Entrepreneurship – to be sensitive to a business opportunity, develop a business plan, start a business and operate and maintain the business

Ethics – the study of appropriate business policies and practices regarding corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities.

Information Technology – concepts and skills in current and emerging technology areas including computer application software, networking, artificial intelligence and big data.

International Business – the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale in the context of different countries’ cultures, political and economic policies and business practices.

Management Concepts – to analyse, synthesise and evaluate data from other areas of business such as marketing, finance, accounting and production along with developing appropriate leadership skills and conducting career and technical student organisation activities

Marketing Concepts – to increase the understanding of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

Quantitative Skills – the application of mathematical skills to the analysis and interpretation of real-world quantitative information to solve or understand a business problem.

You will immediately see how valuable these skills are, and why a qualification in business studies is held in such high esteem.

Exciting, isn’t it? But instead of just dreaming about a career in business, why not take the first steps in that direction. Regenesys Business School is ideally placed to make your dreams a reality.

The Regenesys Business School, through the Regenesys Foundation, have created a unique Education for All [Ed4All] programme to disrupt traditional models of education. It uses technology to deliver online life-changing programmes The initiative is open to those who truly are poor, but have the aptitude and desire to study further.

If you are bright, young and ambitious, with good school-leaving results, this could be for you.

As Dr Altman told us earlier on, high youth unemployment rates remain one of the greatest challenges to economic transformation in South Africa. Ed4All allows financially disadvantaged students to gain access to higher business education by paying a nominal fee, calculated according to their means, from as little as $35 per month [R 500]. Once students complete their qualification and obtain employment, they pay off the remainder of the loan. Interest is charged at commercial rates and the repayment period is adjusted according to the students’ circumstances after graduation.

The Ed4All initiative allows deserving students to get the opportunity to earn a top, recognised business qualification.

The Education for All initiative aims to:

Disrupt traditional higher education systems and provide access to affordable and quality higher education to the world;
Utilise internet, financial engineering, technology and education as the greatest equalisers in the world;
Create a world in which higher education is a human right for all and not a privilege of the wealthy;
Provide an opportunity to every human being on Planet Earth to be educated, develop, awaken their potential and achieve their dreams;
Develop more educated and more enlightened human beings, better leaders and a better world.

The following programmes are available exclusively online through Education for All:

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management (PDBM)
Higher Certificate in Business Management (HCBM)

These programmes are all formally accredited by the Council for Higher Education of South Africa.

End Note

Lack of affordable access to quality education is a root cause of many problems in our world today: poverty, unemployment, inequality, terrorism, wars, diseases, discrimination, human suffering and unhappiness. At Regenesys we believe that the cost of higher education should not be preventing any human beings from achieving their dreams.

To gain entry to Ed4All programmes, applicants must meet the standard regulatory educational requirements for the programme they have chosen.

The Ed4All initiative is viable because it rides on the back of Regenesys Business School’s extensive investment in digital distance education. Ed4All students get access to exactly the same materials as do their regular fee-paying students.

Click here to donate to the Ed4All initiative.

Click here to become a student on the Ed4All initiative.