Business

The structure of studying here really suits me rather than A Levels, as there are opportunities to improve on what you enjoy doing most.

I like that it is a broad course and that it provides lots of options for you once you're finished - if you don't have a specific idea within business what to do, this can help you to build a specialism.

My highlights so far would be the guest speakers from BMW and Vodafone coming in to talk about apprenticeships, giving us an insight into what you need to give to get into these places.

Studying Business Management at university is my next step.

I chose the college because it's local to me and I'd heard good things about its reputation for teaching business.

There is a lot of freedom and much more support from tutors. You get to know your tutor well, which feels more personal and has definitely improved my confidence and I find the teaching style more to my liking as I'm treated like an adult!

I feel like the course has solidified my career prospects and I'm enjoying it.

I have always wanted to set my own business up since secondary school and I knew that to go down this career path, I needed a bit of pushing and confidence-building from the college.

I loved college; it made who I am today and I have my closest friends through studying there.

The College and the support staff pushed me to do my best, convinced me to apply to university and when I found out I got in with an unconditional offer, the rest is history – I have just graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a First Class degree in Business and Management.

I came to a college open day and a business taster day, and I really liked it - that and my siblings also came here and recommended it!

Being here, I feel like I have more freedom as I can have a part-time job alongside studying. There's more time to balance things in your life, as I get to focus on just one subject. Jill, our tutor, motivates us and is really approachable and everyone wants to be on the course.

Even though I'm still unsure which exact career to go into, I know I'm getting a good qualification. Business gives you insights into some of the different careers out there, but for now I'm going to do the second year of the course, then look into university or apprenticeships.

During my time at college I developed valuable commercial skills such as communication, negotiation, personal organisation and customer focus. I feel I developed a lot as an individual and became much more independent and effective at communicating with people at all different levels.

In my current role as Apprenticeships Training Co-ordinator, I am responsible for overseeing apprentices in management, team leading and managing the training for Unipart. I apply much of what I learnt in college, especially when it comes to problem-solving, using my own initiative and time management.

I also utilise my negotiation skills and always try and give excellent customer service to the apprentices and organisations I work with.