Open College Network West Midlands · RQF Level 2
Open College Network West Midlands Level 2 Extended Award in Work Preparation for Business and Administration (QCF)
You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.
- LevelRQF Level 2
- Total credits9
- Units in this qualification67
Awarded by Open College Network West Midlands · on the Ofqual register
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See how this course maps onto your role
Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this qualification rather than a generic one.
About 5 minutes · No card · Nothing to commit to
What you’ll learn
What each unit actually teaches you to do
These are the units Open College Network West Midlands registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.
Applying for a JobReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different methods of applying for a job.
- Prepare a job application.
Building a Personal Career PortfolioReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Recognise own skills, abilities, experience, knowledge and personal qualities.
- Assess the potential of own skills, abilities, experience, knowledge and personal qualities for contributing towards the achievement of personal goals.
- Build a portfolio of information to evidence achievements and qualities.
- Produce a curriculum vitae (CV).
- Identify personal goals and the actions required to achieve these.
- Understand the value of a portfolio in personal, educational and career development.
Building working relationships with colleaguesReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how people in the workplace depend on one another.
- Understand how an individual’s behaviour affects other people at work.
- Demonstrate positive behaviours that promote effective working with others.
Business DevelopmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand factors affecting business growth.
- Understand factors affecting business location.
- Understand the importance for a business to establish strong links with its community.
Business SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand methods of collecting information for business purposes.
- Interpret and draw conclusions from business data and information.
- Create a business report.
- Understand the use of oral presentations in business.
- Interpret and use business terminology.
Business StudiesReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the nature and purpose(s) of business.
- Understand different types of business.
- Formulate objectives for different types of business organisations.
- Understand the organisational structure of different types of businesses.
- Understand the importance of communication that can be used in business.
Chairing MeetingsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand skills needed to be a Chair of an organisation.
- Understand how to organise and facilitate meetings.
- Understand the role of the Chair in facilitating decision making.
- Understand the leadership role of the Chair.
Committee SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose of a committee.
- Understand the functions of a committee.
- Understand decision making and accountability within a committee.
Communicate in a Business EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Plan a communication.
- Communicate in writing.
- Communicate verbally.
- Identify and agree ways of developing communication skills.
Communication in the WorkplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Know about ways of communicating.
- Know the methods used to communicate different types of information in the workplace.
- Use communication skills.
Customer CareReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of good customer care.
- Provide good customer care.
- Communicate positively with customers.
- Understand the importance of keeping to organisational policies and practice.
Data Protection and Confidentiality in a Working EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the importance of data protection and confidentiality in the workplace.
- Ensure confidentiality of an individual’s information.
- Know methods of transmitting and receiving sensitive information.
- Understand that information varies in its importance.
- Understand the importance of secure storage systems and methods of recording.
Desktop Publishing SoftwareReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Select and use appropriate designs and page layouts for publications.
- Input and combine text and other information within publications.
- Use desktop publishing software techniques to edit and format publications.
Developing meeting skillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose and format of meetings.
- Prepare for meetings.
- Contribute to a meeting.
Enterprise skillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and how these are important in business situations.
- Understand own strengths as an enterprising person and ways to develop own enterprising characteristics.
Exploring job opportunitiesReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Identify suitable job opportunities.
- Investigate job vacancies.
Financial ManagementReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how to read a balance sheet.
- Understand a basic end of year profit and loss statement.
- Control cash in business.
- Understand the basic measures of performance.
Funding Strategies and Bid-WritingReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand what is meant by a funding strategy.
- Know the key elements of a funding strategy.
- Know the elements present in a good funding application.
- Apply funding strategies.
Handle MailReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand security procedures when handling mail or packages.
- Know the range of available internal and external mail services.
- Receive, distribute and collect internal mail or packages.
- Follow procedures for despatching mail or packages.
- Resolve, report or refer problems that may occur in handling mail or packages.
Health and Safety in a Practical EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Know the Health and Safety requirements, procedures and equipment relevant to their work environment.
- Recognise and manage risk in their work environment by following safe working practices.
How to Run Effective MeetingsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the key features of effective meetings.
- Organise a meeting.
Improve Own Performance in a Business EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how to improve own performance.
- Improve own performance using feedback.
- Agree own development needs using a learning plan.
Improving own learning and performanceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different ways of learning.
- Set realistic learning targets.
- Review own performance in meeting learning targets.
International Aspects of BusinessReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand factors affecting business at an international level.
- Understand the importance of exporting and importing.
- Understand international marketing.
- Understand the nature and role of the multinational company.
- Understand the importance of European economic and political integration on business.
- Understand the nature of distribution on an international scale.
- Understand trends in international business.
Interview SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Demonstrate readiness for an interview.
- Respond to questions in an interview.
- Review own performance in an interview.
Introduction to Business AdministrationReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the Business and Administration sector.
- Know about different types of career opportunities and training available in the Business and Administration sector.
- Demonstrate and review an appropriate skill in the Business and Administration sector.
Introduction to Self EmploymentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Identify self-employment opportunities
- Produce a simple business plan
- Understand the legal and practical aspects of being self employed
Manage Own Performance in a Business EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Plan work and be accountable to others.
- Understand how to behave in a way that supports effective working.
- Behave in a way that supports effective working.
ManagementReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand management at different levels of a business.
- Understand different styles of management.
- Understand the management of change.
- Understand the importance of information in decision making.
MarketingReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of marketing and its importance to organisations.
- Understand product development processes and the role of market research in informing these processes.
- Understand the role of the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) in achieving marketing objectives.
- Manage marketing strategies, including planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Marketing ResearchReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the role of marketing research in organisations and its contribution to decision-making.
- Use marketing research to gather information about customers, competitors, and the market environment.
- Use methods of primary research, such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
- Use techniques for analysing marketing research information, including statistical analysis and data visualisation.
- Present marketing research information effectively, using reports, presentations, and other communication methods.
Meet and Welcome VisitorsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how to meet and welcome visitors.
- Meet and welcome visitors.
Minute TakingReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Know how different types of meeting are recorded.
- Understand the importance of preparation and planning in order to help prepare good minutes.
- Understand different techniques for note-taking, paraphrasing and summarising information during a meeting.
- Summarise the content of a meeting.
- Understand the characteristics of good minutes in terms of content, style and recording the content of a meeting accurately.
- Prepare minutes.
Oral Presentation SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Plan a presentation.
- Deliver a structured presentation to an audience.
- Review the presentation.
Personal presentation in the workplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Know conventions for personal presentation in the workplace.
- Demonstrate appropriate personal presentation for the workplace.
Planning and reviewing learningReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Plan to meet targets.
- Follow a plan to meet targets and improve performance.
- Review own progress and achievements.
Presentation SoftwareReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Input and combine text and other information within presentation slides.
- Use presentation software tools to structure, edit and format slide sequences.
- Prepare slideshow for presentation.
Recognising Leadership SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the characteristics of effective leadership.
- Understand the skills required for effective leadership.
Recognising Prejudice and DiscriminationReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how stereotyping people can lead to prejudice and discrimination.
- Understand the impact of discriminatory behaviour on individuals and the workplace.
Recognising and respecting diversity in the workplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how recognising and respecting individual differences and diversity contributes to a positive environment in the workplace.
- Understand key responsibilities in relation to promoting equality in the workplace.
- Understand the importance of challenging discrimination at work.
Responsible Work PracticeReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the requirements of the workplace.
- Understand the importance of positive attitudes and behaviours at work.
- Understand the characteristics of effective work practice.
Rights and Responsibilities in the WorkplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand why rights and responsibilities are important in the workplace.
- Understand how to access sources of support and guidance about rights and responsibilities in the workplace.
Risk ManagementReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand key characteristics of risk assessment and risk reduction for an organisation.
- Understand risk assessment and risk mitigation in own organisation.
Role of a SecretaryReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of Secretary to an organisation.
- Understand the importance of Secretary to an organisation.
- Understand skills required to be Secretary to an organisation.
Role of a TreasurerReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the functions of Treasurer to an organisation.
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of Treasurer to an organisation.
- Understand the importance of Treasurer to an organisation.
- Understand skills required to be Treasurer to an organisation.
Running a Community EventReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand types of events that could be run in own organisation.
- Understand tasks involved in running a community event.
- Understand skills required to organise a community event.
Single Entry BookkeepingReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the role of bookkeeping in supporting financial management.
- Understand the principles of coding for bookkeeping.
- Understand the principles of single entry bookkeeping.
- Understand own bookkeeping needs and areas for development.
Solve Business ProblemsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Recognise business problems and their causes.
- Know techniques for solving business problems.
- Plan a solution to a business problem.
- Carry out a solution to a business problem.
- Review a solution to a business problem.
Solving Problems in the WorkplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the types of problems that may occur in the workplace.
- Understand how problems can be solved.
Spreadsheet SoftwareReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Use a spreadsheet to enter, edit and organise numerical and other data.
- Select and use appropriate formulas and data analysis tools to meet requirements.
- Select and use tools and techniques to present and format spreadsheet information.
Teamwork SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how roles and responsibilities can be allocated within a team.
- Understand how to contribute to a team discussion.
- Understand how to participate in a team activity.
- Review own contribution to the team.
The Economic EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand market forces.
- Understand the concept of elasticity.
- Understand the role of the government in the macro economy.
The Employment RelationshipReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand sources of employment law.
- Understand the distinction between employees and independent contractors.
- Understand the formation of the employee contract.
- Understand circumstances under which the terms of a contract of employment may be varied.
The Individual in OrganisationsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand theories of motivation.
- Understand the importance of team working.
- Understand what delegation involves.
- Understand the role of training within organisations.
Time Management SkillsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the importance of good time management.
- Know ways to promote good time management.
- Plan own use of time.
- Improve own time management.
Understanding Business OrganisationsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the different types and purpose of businesses.
- Understand the different types of business ownership.
- Understand organisational structures of different types of businesses.
- Understand the role of communication in business.
Understanding Change in the WorkplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand that organisations need to respond to change and new directions.
- Understand the impacts of change in the workplace.
Understanding Opportunities in Work Based Learning and ApprenticeshipsReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose of work based learning and apprenticeships.
- Understand how work based learning and apprenticeship opportunities can benefit own learning and development.
Understanding Structures in the WorkplaceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the importance of organisational objectives and values.
- Understand the need for effective communication routes within an organisation.
- Recognise the way in which decisions are made in relation to organisational structure.
Understanding the Business EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how external economic factors can affect business.
- Understand how political and legal factors can affect business.
- Understand the effect of technological progress and developments on business.
- Understand how business needs to meet external change.
Use Office EquipmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Know about different types of office equipment and its uses.
- Understand the purpose of following instructions and health and safety procedures.
- Understand how to use equipment in a way that minimises waste.
- Know about the different types of problems that may occur when using equipment and how to deal with them.
- Understand the purpose of meeting work standards and deadlines.
- Understand the purpose of leaving equipment and the work area ready for the next user.
- Use office equipment.
Using EmailReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Use e-mail software tools and techniques to compose and send messages.
- Manage incoming e-mail effectively.
Using the InternetReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Connect to the Internet.
- Use browser software to navigate webpages effectively.
- Use browser tools to search for information from the Internet.
- Use browser software to communicate information online.
- Understand the need for safety and security practices when working online.
Word Processing SoftwareReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Enter and combine text and other information accurately within word processing documents.
- Create and modify layout and structures for word processing documents.
- Use word processing software tools to format and present documents effectively to meet requirements.
Work ExperienceReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Plan their work experience.
- Work effectively in their role.
- Review their work experience placement.
Work in a Business EnvironmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Work in ways which respect other people in the workplace.
- Maintain security and confidentiality at work and deal with concerns.
- Support sustainability and minimise waste in an organisation.
Work with other people in a business environmentReal unit · Open College Network West Midlands
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how to work as part of a team to achieve goals and objectives.
- Understand how to communicate as part of a team.
- Understand the contribution of individuals within a team.
- Understand how to deal with problems and disagreements.
- Understand the purpose of feedback when working as a team.
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
Your passport
Every credit is a stamp you keep
Level 2 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.
Who’d teach you this
The Evidence Evaluator
Assessor
Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.
Meet all twelve tutorsWhere this connects
Where these credits take you
A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.
- Analyse, interpret and synthesise data and research findings to inform social marketing strategies
- Design and plan marketing research
- Interpret and present marketing research findings
- Receive Mail Safely and Securely
Where this can lead
Marketing Research Manager
Your journey here is really what you make of it. We're committed to giving you the tools, opportunities, and support to grow, whether that's becoming a deep technical expert, a strategic advisor, or a leader of people. We'll have regular chats about your career aspirations and help you chart a path that excites you.
See the whole journey →Showing 6 roles, drawn from 142 job records mapped to this qualification.
Skills it covers
What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
How you’ll actually learn this
One-to-one, on your own real work
A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.
Applied to your work in any of these jobs
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
Built for Open College Network West Midlands Level 2 Extended Award in Work Preparation for Business and Administration (QCF)
67 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by Open College Network West Midlands.
- Applying for a Job
- Building a Personal Career Portfolio
- Building working relationships with colleagues
- Business Development
- Business Skills
- Business Studies
and 61 more in the full unit list below.
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Why it sticks
Most courses stop at remembering
There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.
- 6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
- 5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
- 4AnalyseThe Analyst
- 3ApplyThe Coach
- 2UnderstandThe Connector
- 1RememberThe Builder
Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you
The value
Why the companion is worth £70 a month
You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.
That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.
Earned on your own work, taught to the top.
Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it.
Build my plan, freeNo card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.