BUSINESS & FINANCE
Welcome to Petroc PACE +
Business
The information on this page will give you a flavour of what life is like studying Business at Petroc and help to expand your knowledge. Take a look around!
Start by listening to the welcome presentation and meet the team of experienced lecturers who will be teaching you when you join us! Have a browse through what we do both on our North and Mid Devon Campuses, the courses we offer and have a taster by trying the online business simulations.
You can also gain an understanding of the careers you could go onto and find out what our current and previous students have got up to this year.
Once you are finished why not check out what else Petroc has to offer on the Life at Petroc page.
June Content
Introduction to Business
Meet the team
Zoey Arthurs
Head of Faculty and Lecturer
Mid Devon Campus
Marie Gould
Head of Faculty for Business and Management
North Devon
Chris Bowen
Programme Manager for Business and Management
Mid Devon Campus
Geeta Finn
Faculty Manager for Business and Management
North Devon
Jo Goodreid
Lecturer
North Devon
Ali Newcombe
Lecturer
North Devon
Tony Beal
Lecturer
North Devon
Sammy Antell
Lecturer
North Devon
Welcome and Introduction to Business at Petrocfrom Programme Manager, Chris Bowen!
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Some activities for you to try at home
What have our previous students been up to?
We host an annual ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition, where we have local business owners come in and have a series of speed networking meetings with our students. The information learners gather from these discussions is used to create a pitch for an original business idea to present to a panel of ‘Dragons’.
James was the winner of the College’s 2019 Dragon's Den Competition
James won the Enterprise ‘Dragon’s Den’ Challenge with his “DECI Bike Cycling Safety Products” pitch. He beat competing learners on his course to reach the final, where eight prestigious Local Business Dragons chose him as their winner.
“I’ve always wanted to become an entrepreneur with my own products, and the variety of different areas that Business Level 3 covers made my decision easier. It will give me the knowledge and qualification to start off my business.
“I have enjoyed how the course covers a wide range of business skills. I have benefited from the support and subject knowledge of the lectures. Winning the Enterprise Challenge has given me the opportunity to be in contact with one of the dragons that attended, to help start up my business.”
Owen Warren, a previous L2 and L3 Business student at Mid Devon
"I first started Petroc back in 2015 doing Carpentry, after a couple of months I realised that carpentry was not the course for me. After realising this, Petroc went above and beyond to find me a course that they felt would be a perfect fit. That’s when I made the transfer onto the Business Level 2 course. After I completed the year, I then progressed on to the level 3 Extended diploma in Business studies. After my two years on the level 3 business course I then went on to the Foundation Degree in business which Petroc offers.
Business2.flvWatch this video to find out about the Field trip opportunities
"Over the years at Petroc I have had lots of opportunities given to me, such as taking part in NCS and field trips to London and Barcelona and taking part in UCAS events. The trip to Barcelona was definitely a standout trip, for 2 weeks we had the opportunity to work along side a Spanish college and help develop their social media. We were also given lots of free time to explore Barcelona.
"Petroc was also outstanding in helping me with my learning, as I’m a “slow learner” I struggled at school and would never of even encouraged the idea of going to university. But Petroc changed that, they were outstanding in the support they offered me over the years, they gave me the confidence and encouraged to go to university. I would not of accomplished as much as i have if it wasn’t for Petroc."
Larriska Chambers, a previous L3 Business student at Mid Devon
"I first started Petroc in 2015 doing AS levels, after realising this was not what i wanted to do Petroc were very helpful and allowed me to switch to a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business Studies. After I completed this I progressed onto the Foundation Degree in Business.
"In my time at Petroc I have had many opportunities given to me such as taking part in NCS and field trips including visiting London and attending UCAS events. I also went to Amsterdam with Petroc, this was a great trip and was filled with amazing activities! We visited a lot of tourist places but also had free time to explore by ourselves.
"Through Petroc I was able to work in Barcelona For two weeks through their Erasmus work placement, all accommodation and travel was paid for. We worked in Monlau college, doing a variety of administrative jobs and visiting school fetes. Petroc organised plenty of tourist attractions for us to visit, including going up La Sagrada Familia. We also had lots of free time allowing us to explore Barcelona fully."
Charlotte, a previous Level 3 Business student at North Devon
“I have enjoyed all the different aspects of the course, particularly Managing an Event, which also allowed me to pitch a business idea to a panel of local entrepreneurs.
“The expertise of the staff has equipped me with knowledge and skills to successfully achieve on this course and it has given me the confidence to work more effectively in my part-time job role.”
Career opportunities
Studying a business course at Petroc will provide you with multiple opportunities and different avenues to explore your future career. Take a look at the links below to explore the different options!
July Content
Explore one side of Business - Marketing.
Get a head start on the Principles of Marketing and Developing a Marketing Campaign by discovering the 4 P's. Think of a business idea that you might like put forward and how you might apply this format.
Have you heard of Traineeships?
A Traineeship is a course with work experience that gets you ready for work or an apprenticeship. Click through the presentation below to learn what Traineeships Petroc offer!
August Content
Get ready for September and complete two activities!
Marketing
Watch the video about the ‘The Secret Behind Coco-Cola Marketing Strategy’ and answer the questions below.
Why do you think Coca Cola spends 10% of their sales revenue (approx. $4 billion) on advertising every year even though they are already so popular and well known.
What is guerrilla marketing and why do Coca Cola use it?
Analyse the repeated use of the same style Christmas advert campaign year on year, is it really needed?
Which of Coca Cola’s marketing campaigns do you prefer, ‘Share a Coke’ (personalised names on bottles) or ‘Share a Can’ (twist cans). Ensure you justify your answers.
If you worked in Coca Cola’s marketing team, what would you do for their next marketing campaign, be creative with this one, think about the aims of the campaign and justify your plan.
Entrepreunership
Watch the video about the ‘DIY Generation: Young Hustlers’ and answer the questions below.
STARTER (before the video starts) in your own words define what an entrepreneur is.
Do you want to be an entrepreneur? Justify your answer either way.
Why do you think entrepreneurship has become so attractive to young people?
What skills do you think are pivotal to being a successful entrepreneur and why?
Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of being an entrepreneur.
Do you agree with Rankin that it is important to give ‘freebies’? Ensure you give reasons for your answer.
Establish 3 possible micro-business ideas. Think about the following:
Your interests, knowledge & skills, current trends, any previous work experience or problems you could solve.
Choose just one of your ideas from above which you plan to open within the next six months and consider all of the factors outlined below:
Create a business name
Create a business slogan
Justify your choice of corporate colours
Create a business logo (design online or by hand and paste below)
Justify where your business will be located and sell its products
Identify your competitors and justify why customers will shop with you rather than them.
Justify what pricing strategy you will be using
What are your aims within the first years?
What are your aims within the first 5 years?
Any other information