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SFEDI Business Start Up Project
There are about 250,000 people each year who need to develop the competence to start a business and this number is growing. Most don't engage in formal learning and development. As the lead body for the sector, SFEDI aims to improve the rate of success of business start-up and encourage the development of suitable provision that is tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs. Greater flexibility and better quality provision is needed. Therefore qualifications that meet the diverse needs of small businesses can help improve the range of provision to the small business market.
Using its stakeholder network, SFEDI invited providers and awarding bodies in June 2006 to participate in Phase 1 of the QCA Framework test and trials project. The aim is to develop credits and flexible qualifications for those starting or about to start a business.
In the Business Start-Up Project, SFEDI will evaluate how the recently reviewed Business Enterprise standards - and in particular, the new Enterprising Essentials units - are used as the basis for these credit-based flexible qualifications.
Key objectives for the project include:
- Providing recognition of achievement to entrepreneurs engaged in learning and development to set up a business
- Promoting greater flexibility of delivery, assessment and achievement in Business Enterprise
- Bringing non-accredited provision designed to support business enterprise into the new QCA Qualifications and Credit Framework
- Establishing consistent and valid ways of providing learning and achievement in Business Enterprise between providers and awarding bodies
- Developing systems of quality and recognition that minimise the level bureaucracy for learners and providers
- Collecting information on potential benefits to individual entrepreneurs
Units at Levels 2 and 3 mapped to SFEDI standards have been produced and entered onto the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) web-based database. Awarding bodies are currently in the process of developing a variety of qualifications to be delivered at different centres across the country. These qualifications will be listed on this website in January 2007.
You can access the Business Framework Units online, as well as the SFEDI standards that they relate to.
Click here to access the Level 2 Units
Click here to access the Level 3 Units
Providers
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
Business Enterprise Support, Burton
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College
Awarding Bodies
Chartered Management Institute
International Association of Book-Keepers
Institute of Leadership and Management
