Skills

FOUNDATION DEGREES

the route to a degree and improved career prospects at any time in life

Is it too late? A question posed by many people as their career progresses who in earlier life did not either have, or take, the opportunity to study for higher qualifications after school or college. Sometimes this question is also asked by an employer who sees an employee with real potential, whose personal and professional development would benefit themselves and the organisation, and wonders how they can help the employee maximise that potential. Lockdown and the challenges of COVID-19 may also have raised this question in the minds of many as working patterns changed and industry sectors either thrived or declined.

Studying for a Foundation Degree at Kingston College, or one of our sister Colleges, could be the answer to the question. Launched as a new qualification in 2001 to give people the opportunity at different stages in life to gain higherlevel qualifications. Foundation Degrees recognise the value of vocationally relevant and driven work experience over traditional academic qualifications. Foundation Degrees are something of the hidden gems in the higher education jewel box.

Foundation degrees can help improve skills and better career prospects. They have many benefits whether a person is already working or looking for a job. A Foundation Degree may be suitable if a person:

is working and wants to improve their skills and prospects in a current job, through part-time higher level study

has left school and wants a higher education qualification that’s relevant to their job aspirations

wants to reskill in a new occupation or profession, or wishes to return to work after a break

Foundation degrees are also taught in local colleges and can be studied full-time over two years or on a part-time basis, offering students with work or family commitments more flexibility. Studying closer to home or work also means reduced travel time and costs.

Locally many employers, support and fund their employees to study part-time for a Foundation Degree alongside work as part of their training and development. At Kingston College, the suite of Foundation Degrees in Early Years Education is a particular example of such a study opportunity pursued by many childcare and early education providers to support their staff to achieve the sector-endorsed, and required qualification, to provide career progression. For many potential students pondering the question “is it too late to gain a degree?” they will tentatively consider their up-skilling journey. Knowing where to start is the first challenge – full-time or part-time study; sponsored or self-funded; navigating Student Finance; and then of course choosing the right course and the right place to study.

The Foundation Degree in Business, which is Kingston College’s longest delivered Foundation Degree, provides a cost effective opportunity to improve educational qualifications whilst still working full-time in a very wide range of business and employment settings. It is tough, of course to come into College after a long day at work but at Kingston and its sister Colleges, many more than a thousand students have shown that it is manageable, fulfilling and even enjoyable. Business students tell us that they feel inspired, unleashed, challenged and motivated. For our staff here at the College these courses are very rewarding to teach on because you see how life-changing this opportunity can be with growth in confidence, ability and career progression. Some of the College’s own, and our partner Kingston University’s, non-teaching staff have also kick started their careers with the study of the Foundation Degree in Business, which many have later “topped up” to the BA (Hons) Business Management Practice with one further year of part-time study at the University.

Many students join Foundation Degrees because of a personal recommendation from friends, relatives and work colleagues. Over the past ten years the Foundation Degree in Business has seen sons, daughters, aunts and uncles join the course as they have realised the opportunity available to them. Work colleagues who are line managers, mentors or friends and peers to those with aspirations have provided a pipeline of new and eager students. Having joined, students often cannot believe that there is not more demand from people just like themselves searching for that later-in-life degree opportunity. With formal face-to-face teaching time in the evening, and in some cases on Saturday (perhaps on average 5 hours per week), students need to work independently for about 15-20 hours per week. Some of this can be completed in their workplace by applying what they have learned in the classroom in a practical way. Students report that being able to join in conversations at work, and with their seniors, by using appropriate terminology opens many doors. So, it is never too late!

The Foundation Degree in Business, and the other Foundation Degrees in the table below, recognise past work experience (a minimum of 2 years is essential) as part of the entry qualification. Along with ongoing employment for the duration of the course (minimum 16 hours per week) they allow those with aspirations to take this potentially life changing journey to help them add the much needed qualification to their CV – and as importantly, give them the confidence to achieve.

Foundation Degree

Subject College

Business Kingston

Subject College

Subject

College

Early Years Education Kingston, Carshalton and South Thames College

Leadership and Management in Early Years (Sector Endorsed) Kingston

Subject College

Education and Learning Carshalton

Other Foundation Degrees taught full time at College and without a direct employer component

Art and Design - Kingston Fashion and Textiles - Kingston

For more information and details of how to apply to the courses featured in this article and all of the other courses mentioned please see the links below;

https://kingston-college.ac.uk/subject/business/foundation-degree-fda-in-business https://kingston-college.ac.uk/subject/care-childcare/foundation-degree-fda-in-early-years-sector-endorsed https://kingston-college.ac.uk/undergraduate https://carshalton.ac.uk/undergraduate/