Posted: 23/04/2014
Future business leaders wanting to develop business understanding and effectiveness will be able to undertake a two year Masters in Business Administration with the GTA University Centre from September.
The GTA is running the MBA in partnership with the University of Southampton and hopes to attract students from across the Channel Islands.
‘The MBA course has been extremely successful in Guernsey with more than 60 people completing the qualification in previous years. It is constantly being updated so that students benefit from the latest management thinking and have access online support,' said GTA deputy chief executive Simon Le Tocq, who is one of those who has completed the qualification.
‘It is a significant commitment but one which brings enormous benefit to younger managers who want to develop their expertise and become future leaders by standing out rather than blending in. The business world is becoming increasingly competitive, in all sectors, and companies need strong leaders to take them forward and continue being successful.'
The course, which aims to give students a grounding in management techniques and skills, an understanding of strategic management and an insight into business issues through individual research, covers a wide range of modules including effective leadership, contemporary marketing, decision modelling and analysis, corporate finance and strategy.
A lunchtime presentation to launch the MBA, followed by an evening lecture has been organised for 19 June when prospective students can speak to course leaders and MBA alumni from Guernsey to understand more about the study programme and the benefits it brings.
Dr Edgar Meyer from the University of Southampton, which is one of Europe's leading management schools, said the course integrated all aspects of management.
‘The MBA is a programme which is designed to build the skills and capacity of individuals who already have considerable works experience to enable them to reach new levels within their organisation,' he said.
‘Individuals will be able to go back to their organisations and hopefully think differently about the way in which they work with people, they can bring in new ideas, they can challenge their own way of thinking and they may be able to challenge the way things are done.'
Detective Chief Inspector Ruairi Hardy from Guernsey Police, who recently completed the course, said that the benefits of studying through the GTA meant that teaching was on-island but led by UK tutors.
‘It's almost as if I had been at Southampton University. For me as a full-time member of staff within the Guernsey Police, it meant that I didn't need to take large amounts of time off and I was also able to balance family life as well. That was a huge benefit,' he said.
He added that the ability to hand in coursework locally, have access to a member of GTA staff to handle the administration and being able to use the GTA Study Centre had all added to the experience of it being a well-managed course which was focused around the needs of the students.
‘It's something I would encourage anyone with management aspirations to seriously consider. It's given me a whole new set of tools to do my job in a better way, a more informed and open way and I feel that I am a far better manager because of that.'
The two year course, which comprises of 14 lecture weekends a year and an international study week in Maastricht, costs £18,750 but finance is available through the GTA. Anyone wanting to added the launch event or find out more about the MBA can contact Chris Edwards on 746886 or email chris.edwards@gta.gg