Business Diversification Seminar

The seminar on Business Diversity on 8 February 2012 was opened by Dr Gina Hobson, who presented an introduction to the topic, outlining market areas and key considerations for a college looking to diversify its provision.

Bob Bailey, an experienced BAC inspector specialising in marketing and business, then gave a presentation on Marketing a New Business Model. This included discussion of short and medium term goals, advertising, testing out new provision and market analysis. He was followed by Sheila Needham and Alex Proudfoot, who described the support services provided by BAC Educational Consulting and Study UK respectively.

After a coffee and refreshment break, when delegates had the opportunity to meet the presenters and discuss any queries, everyone reconvened to hear two case studies from BAC-accredited colleges. Suzie Mackie from UK2Learn gave a presentation on being a short course provider, accepting students via the student visitor visa route for a hugely diverse program of study including travel agent visits, airline training and chocolate crafting. The next speaker was Will Gibbs from the KLC School of Design, who described his institution’s unique blend of distance and face-to-face learning to create a brand new programme suited to the School’s business.

Please note that presentation handouts are available to accredited colleges in the Downloads section of the College Gateway.