Bredon School Business Studies Department

OCR Technical Level 3

Unit 13 Career Planning In Business

Assignment Hand Out Date : Monday 27th February 2017

First Submission Date: Monday 17th April

Second Submission Date: Friday 12th May 2017

IV Week Commencing 22nd May 2017

EV Summer EV TBC

GLH 60 HRS

Unit Scenario and Objective:

As you come towards the end of your business studies course of study it is
important to consider your next steps and future plans. This unit will allow
you to explore options that may be available to you and enable you to
consider ways to further research your career aspirations.

The unit will help learners to make effective career decisions within their
chosen career pathway. Career management skills are particularly
important as labour market conditions change and they enable learners to
have a competitive edge against those who are unclear of their career
path or of labour market conditions.

Employability skills are of relevance to any qualification and the

opportunity to demonstrate these skills is of value in preparation for
employment. Continuous Professional Development is paramount to the
progression and flexibility of an individual as an employee and this unit
will help learners to understand the value of investing in training and
development for their future prospects.

On completion of this unit, learners will have assessed their skills and
have completed an up-to-date personal development career plan relevant
to a career in business. They will have a good understanding of the
concept of transferable skills and the importance of continuing
professional development.
 Bredon School Business Studies Department

OCR Technical Level 3

Unit 13 Career Planning In Business

P1 identify sources of information related to the career path.

For this task you are to consider the sources of information that you might
use to research a chosen career pathway after completion of your studies.
You need to carry out a range of secondary research and discuss the
source of information and its usefulness to you as a potential candidate
looking to enter the area of work identified. You need to ensure that you
cover each of the sources of information to meet the pass criteria.
: Careers Advisers
: Online recruitment agencies
: Professional journals
: Sector Skills Councils
: Careers libraries
: Networking with families and friends

For each of the above identified you need to ensure that you consider the
usefulness of the source and how the source might support a potential
candidate to find out more information about their preferred choice of
career pathway.

M1

Now that you have completed the Pass task to meet the M1 criteria you
are to
Analyse the different sources of information available related to the career
path, consider each of the sources of information and for each one carry
out a SWOT analysis identifying the positive and negatives of each source
identified.
(800 100 words not including identified reference to text )

D1
The D1 task is associated with the second part of the Pass Criteria and
asks you to
Evaluate Labour Market Information related to the career path, to meet
this criteria you need to be asking questions such as Why are there more
people joining the workforce, why is the work force situated in a
particular geographic area, consider here to meet the distinction criteria
reference to text and secondary research on the subject.
(1000 1200 words not including identified reference to text )
P2 / P4 Complete a career plan identifying development needs
 Bredon School Business Studies Department

OCR Technical Level 3

Unit 13 Career Planning In Business

Task 2

For this task you have been asked to complete a career plan ?
You need to consider what your next steps will be when leaving school.
You need to plan this in terms of

Short Term
Medium Term
Long Term

For each one consider what your plan includes, the timescales
associated with the plan and discuss where you are now, where do
you want to be and how do you get there, you should be discussing
all of the options that you are considering and define why you have
chosen these options.

Discuss how your current knowledge, skills, interests, qualifications,

and experience can help to provide a basis for where you are now

Discuss what opportunities might be avaible to you and consider

any implications that might present in terms of you meeting your
goals.

Your career plan should include a number of SMART objectives to
meet the P4 criteria. Ensure you discuss how the objective is SMART.
For example the completion of a course in Higher Education is
SMART due to it being within a defined time frame.

Your career plan can be on a template of your choice but must be detailed
enough to show the reader that you have some real ideas as to the
direction you are heading in and how you hope to achieve your plans.
 Bredon School Business Studies Department

OCR Technical Level 3

Unit 13 Career Planning In Business

P3 Carry out a skills audit to identify skills gaps?

For this task you have been asked to carry out a skills audit of yourself to identify any
skills gaps that you may have. Skills audits are a great way to reflect on our current
levels of skills in a particular area and also help us to identify where we might need
to develop a skill for example public speaking, in a recent survey public speaking
rated more highly than a fear of spiders. You should use the following online skills
assessment tool to help you carry out your skills audit and any other online skills
audits that work for you.
www.123test.com

Within this task you should also consider ways that you might develop yourself to
turn your skills gaps into opportunities.

Consider all of your skills and try where possible to consider how the skills
that you have developed thus far match the type of career pathway that
you would like to pursue.

(800- 1000 words)

 Bredon School Business Studies Department

OCR Technical Level 3

Unit 13 Career Planning In Business

P5 Demonstrate transferable business skills?

In this task you are to report on the transferrable business skills that you
have developed while on your course of study?

Aptitude and knowledge acquired through personal experience such as

schooling, jobs, classes, hobbies, sports etc. Basically, any talent
developed and able to be used in future employment.

For example, a transferable skill applied to a business could consist of

parenting skills in the opening of a pre-school.
(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/transferable-skills.html)
24/2/2017 15:56

You need to think about the transferable business skills that you have
developed and how they might be useful for your chosen pathway. You
should focus on some of the skills that you have developed on your course
of study for example.

Project management
Networking
Selling and negotiation skills
Group work skills

M2 analyse the strengths and weaknesses of own

transferable business skills
Now that you have considered and described your transferable skills you
are to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of own transferable business
skills, for example if you are not confident with the use of ICT or public
speaking or attendance in meetings why is this?

D2 Evaluate ways in which own transferable business

skills can be improved
Now that you have considered your transferable skills think of how they
might be improved for example taking a short course in a particular
subject, challenging yourself outside of your comfort zone.

(2000 2500 Words for all 3 criteria, reference to text and theory
required at Merit and Distinction Level)
 Bredon School Business Studies Department

OCR Technical Level 3

Unit 13 Career Planning In Business

P6 Discuss methods of continuing professional development

and training relevant to the career plan.
In this task you are to consider the term continuing professional
development and discuss methods of continuing professional
development and training
relevant to the career plan and pathway that you have chosen. For
example are there courses that can be taken after qualifying at a
certain level, what are the industry or legal expectations of CPD for
your chosen path.
Think about the range and types of organisations who might support
your CPD as you progress through your pathway, and discuss the
importance of CPD on an individuals pathway through a chosen
career.

M3 analyse different methods of continuing professional development

and training relevant to the career plan.

For this task now that you have identified the importance of CPD
you need to analyse the different forms of CPD identified carrying
out a SWOT analysis on each one identifying the positive and
negatives. Also commenting on which type of CPD might best suit
you through your career pathway based on reflection of how you
have best developed on your course of study.

(1000 1500 Words reference to text and theory required at Merit

and Distinction Level)

(Failure to submit on the hand in date without permission

for extenuating circumstances may result in you failing the
module).