Many business and marketing courses require a knowledge of introductory statistics, computing or mathematics. If you feel inadequately prepared for your course, you can get help from the Numeracy Centre, which offers FREE help in mathematics and statistics. Grab a timetable from the Centre and drop in when it suits you.

COURSE A

The first course available to students is a Revision Course in Basic Maths. This three-hour lecture will review mathematical concepts such as ratios, averages and percentages that will be necessary for any courses requiring elementary statistics. Knowledge of Year 10 Maths is a must. Booking is not necessary.

COURSE B

For those students doing marketing courses and other courses requiring statistical analysis, there is the Bridging Course in Statistics for Marketing. This course introduces ideas in elementary statistics to provide a starting point for further developments in statistical skills later on in other courses. The course is run in sessions of three hours, in the form of a one-hour lecture followed by a two-hour tutorial. Examples will be drawn from reference books. The tutorials will be interactive where possible (e.g. drawing random samples from the population of numbered cards in class) with hands-on experience of data manipulation using MINITAB on a bank of PCs.

COURSE C

Statistics for the Practitioner is slightly different to the previous course, which must be completed before this course. This course is largely non-mathematical. It will instead concentrate on the interpretation and application of statistics rather than on computation. The statistical package MINITAB will be used as a teaching tool. This course will be conducted over two days in the form of workshops and small group discussions, with a strong emphasis on hands-on experience of data manipulation using computers.

COURSE D

Another course of interest to many students is this refresher Course in Basic Computing Skills designed specifically for business and marketing. Students who need more practise using and creating graphs, managing table data, setting up spreadsheets or embedding Excel data are encouraged to enrol in this 8-hour course. Students will learn through workshops giving hands-on experience. Course notes and practice files provided.

GUIDELINES

A resume is a summary of your skills and abilities, education and employment history, including your experience. It needs to be concise, informative and presented effectively so as to create a good first impression. A good resume can help to open the door for an interview.

For an effective resume, six information sections should be delineated. PERSONAL INFORMATION

Head your resume with personal details, including your name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. This information is generally centred on the page.

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Write a career goal statement to define what you want to achieve in your chosen career and the direction you are taking to achieve it. This statement should be placed directly under your personal details. Stating your goal not only articulates to the potential employer that you have given some thought to your future career but how your employment may work to the advantage of both parties. For example, if you have excelled in computer-based technologies, you might state that you are seeking an opportunity to both use your IT skills and further develop them for the advancement of the business or company, ie the potential employer.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In this section, highlight specific skills and abilities acquired through work experience and which are relevant to the position you are applying for. Demonstrate how you developed them and in what capacity, and how others have benefited from your expertise. Ability to get the job done is what a potential employer wants to see. Include any special accomplishments as well. For example, completing a major project ahead of schedule and to budget is a significant achievement.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Provide a listing of your work experience, starting from your most recent job, showing each of the following: employment dates, your job title or role, employer's name and location of the company or organisation.

Just below this, using bullets, list your main responsibilities or duties, such as the number of people you have managed or supervised, budgetary responsibilities and maintenance of databases.

EDUCATION

Start by listing your highest level of school or university education and then any training or workplace certificates that are relevant to the job you are applying for. The latter may include leadership training programs or certification in technologies.

REFERENCES

References are provided so that your credentials can be verified.

It is important to get permission beforehand from the referee(s) to be certain they are available and willing to provide a positive reference on your behalf. List each referee's name, job title, name of the company/organisation and contact telephone numbers.

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is probably best described as a summary and evaluation in writing of your business idea.

Preparation of a business plan is the first and most important task for the business starter. The plan should include details concerning the industry in which you operate, your product or service, marketing, production, personnel and financial strategies.

What purpose does it serve?

A business plan allows you to think through all the factors of a business, and to solve potential problems. It will identify strengths and weaknesses and help to assess whether the business can succeed. It is a blueprint for starting, maintaining or expanding a business. It is a working plan to use in comparing your achievements to the goals you set. It should provide information required by financial institutions when finance is sought.

How to produce a Business Plan

Step 1: Gathering Information

Gather as much relevant information as possible concerning the industry in which you intend to operate (the number of businesses already operating, the size of their operations and where they are located). Use books, industry associations, and existing business owners to help you.

Collect all possible information regarding the market/s you are aiming for (who buys, why do they buy and what are the key features the customer looks for).

Learn all you can about the product/s or services you intend to produce, distribute or offer.

Step 2: Analysis

Read over all the material you have collected and decide what is relevant to your business idea. You may have to modify your idea depending on what your research shows. The key question to ask is:

'Can you design a business that will earn enough to cover costs and pay a wage and reasonable profit to you as the proprietor?'

When Steps l and 2 are completed, you should have decided if there is a market for your product or service which is large enough and sufficiently accessible to make your new business financially worthwhile. Now you are ready to commit your plan to paper.

Step 3: Strategy Formulation

Decide how the business will operate. You should describe how the business will be managed and the staff and organisational structure that will be in place. Diagrams may be useful to show how these areas will work. Don't forget to include the areas of responsibility for each member of staff. This is especially important if some of your staff will be family members.

There are three further parts that go together to make a comprehensive business plan:

• A Marketing Plan, which includes location, method of selling, packaging and pricing. In all these areas you must be aware of consumer trends to make sure that your business does not become outdated or irrelevant.

• An Operational Plan, which describes the day-to-day running of the business. You should include supply sources, cost and quantities of materials, processes, equipment and methods of extending the services or products offered.

• A Financial Plan, which is a master budget for the operation and includes:

- cash flow forecast

- balance sheet

- profit and loss statement

- sources of finance

- sales forecast and target.

The financial aspects of the plan are most important and you should develop or access financial skills to make sure this part of your plan is accurate and realistic. Don't forget set-up costs and the money needed to see you through an initial period of low cash flow when calculating your first year's budget.

Update your Business Plan

Nothing remains constant in business: circumstances change, markets change, fashions change, methods change.

From time to time you must check your sources of information and reassess your business plan. What is relevant when you start is not necessarily so in five years' time. You may also need to revise targets and budgets if external factors (such as interest rates) vary.

Keep your information up-to-date and be prepared to change as circumstances demand. A business plan should be thought of as flexible, not fixed. If you use these steps to develop a business plan, changing it according to circumstances, you will be well on the way to a successful business.