Vocational Qualification in Business QB
A New QB course started on Monday 19th August 2024.
We expect our next QB course intake for 2025 will start on Monday 18th August 2025 with applications likely to be from 14.4.2025 -11.5.2025.
Business skills are needed in all sectors of the world of work! For example restauranteurs, barbers, hairdressers and florists need business skills to calculate profits from different products offered or to make advertising material or to market their product or service.
The QB “Merkonomi in English” graduate has a wide range of skills such as customer-oriented business skills, sales skills, communication and interaction skills, language skills, computer skills and financial management skills. They are at home in both social and digital environments and can network professionally. They can be an entrepreneur or develop into a managerial position. The graduate can work on existing products and services or develop new products and services or develop new customer experiences.
Qualification in Business (QB) graduates have competences in customer-oriented sales, how to serve customers effectively and efficiently in customer service, how to use business communications and interaction to gain exposure of their product or service to their targeted customers, languages and financial management.
They can work in various digital environments and have the basic capabilities required for entrepreneurship or marketing and sales tasks and the capabilities and competences required in first-level management positions.
They also have the capabilities to develop new products and services, customer experiences and other customer solutions profitably. Based on their choices, students can work as a constructive 2nd in command to an entrepreneur.
Many of our graduate students have moved on to either higher education or started their own businesses.
As a QB graduate, you can work in a variety of jobs such as
- Customer Service
- Sales
- Marketing Communications
- Service Design
- Office Services in many different companies and plenty of different countries or start your own company.
What you will learn
Operating in a business environment
- Common business forms, business models, operating methods and operating procedures.
- How to resolve problem situations in the workplace and identify opportunities.
- Information security, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation graphics applications and ways of using artificial intelligence
- Formation of the organization’s income and expenses, factors affecting profitability and budgeting.
- Formation of product or service price, including personnel costs and salary formation.
Customer service
- Know the product or service you are selling, target customer groups and key factors influencing the customer experience.
- Be proactive in customer service situations, taking into account customer’s needs, product or service knowledge and solve problem situations professionally.
- Identify opportunities, appreciate feedback, provide positive customer experiences and work well in challenging service situations.
- Know information security threats.
Sales work
- Know how to contact customers, chart customer’s needs, wishes and special characteristics of target customer groups.
- Understand competitive situation, ethical selling and ordering and delivery processes and availability
- Know how to present alternative products or services or total solutions that suit the customer’s needs and sell solutions that suit the customer’s needs.
- Know payment and financing options, key indicators of sales and how to close the deal.
Working in a Project
- Understand project scope, realistic goals and metrics and plan measures and division of labour.
- Learn how to prepare a documented project plan and agree on the schedule and resources and implement the project according to the plan.
- Use project management tools and produce and manage project documents.
- Learn how to monitor project progress according to plan and resolve problem situations.
- Learn how to gather feedback and evaluate the final result.
Marketing communications
- Learn how to define the target group, identify opportunities for different channels and media visibility and set goals.
- Learn how to choose the channels, plan the content, produce content, budget and implement marketing communications as a weapon of competition.
- Understand governing regulations, the organization’s instructions and copyright issues.
- Learn how to analyze marketing communication and measure the effectiveness of marketing communications.
Planning a business
- Learn how to evaluate a business opportunity or business idea, choose a feasible one, check the market and the competitive situation and develop the business idea.
- Prepare a business plan on a proposed company’s operations taking into account sustainable development, calculations of income and costs related to business activities and your plans for financing if necessary.
- Know the importance of business for society and take into account industry legislation in planning.
- Learn how to choose a suitable business form, present the company’s operating model to key stakeholders and prepare founding documents.
General information on studies
- The duration of studies is about 2,5 years, depending on previous experience and previous studies.
- The scope of the qualification is 180 Competence Points (CP), which include 145 CP of vocational studies and 35 CP common studies.
- Study is full-time in Herttoniemi, Helsinki and the school day is usually 9.00-15.00.
The minimum entry requirements for all applicants
- Finnish language skills at level A2.1
- English language skills at level B1.2.
- Computer literacy
- Residence in Finland
- Over 18 years old
- The will to make a positive change in your life
Please also note the following if you are accepted to study at Careeria
- You will need a computer.
- You need proper health insurance for the duration of your studies (travel insurance is not enough).
- You need to have about EUR 6500 per year of study in cash in your own bank account (to cover living expenses).
- You will need to apply for a residence permit for study purposes.
More information about residence permits for studying in Finland.
Residence permit application
Contents of the diploma
The scope of the qualification is 180 competence points (cp) including 145cp of vocational studies and 35cp common studies.
Compulsory vocational modules
Operating in the business environment 25 cp
Customer service, 15 cp
Optional vocational modules
Sales work, 30 cp
Working in a Project, 15 cp
Marketing communications, 30 cp
Planning a business, 15 cp
One other optional module, 15cp
Common units
Communication and interaction competence, 11 cp
Mathematics and science competence, 6 cp
Citizenship and working life competence, 9 cp
Optional learning outcomes in common units, 9 cp
More information about the QB can be found at ePerusteet.
A new QB course will start on Monday 18th Auqust 2025
How to apply for this course?
We expect our next QB course intake for 2025 will start on Monday 18th August 2025 with applications likely to be from 14.4.2025 -11.5.2025.
The application process works like this:
- Students apply for a study place via the Careeria website. Application period 14.4.2025 -11.5.2025
- All applicants get a written English proficiency and motivation test to their emails on may. English written pre-test (webropol) open for a week.
- Pre-test evaluated
- the list of applicants who pass the English proficiency test and Residence requirements, are invited to “Hakijapäivä”, the Finnish written test and English interview at our premises in Herttoniemi. You will be notified the times and the classrooms later.
- Accepted applicants will be sent an acceptance letter & unsuccessful applicants sent non-acceptance emails
- Accepted applicants sent first day instructions during July/August 2025
- School starts Mon 18.8.2025 at 9.00am in Herttoniemi
Apprenticeship cooperation: Stadin Vocational and Adult Education Center
Apprenticeship agreement with an employer
The student acquires a job herself/himself suitable for the diploma or it may be a current job. The job pays the student a salary according to the collective agreement, the average number of working hours per week is 25 hours.
You can study to become a merchant with an apprenticeship in cooperation with Stadin AO (Stadin Vocational and Adult Education Center, apprenticeship services).
For an apprenticeship, you must have a job suitable for the diploma, in which you may perform tasks that fulfill the criteria of the QB diploma.
Contact
For further information contact Bryan Roberts.
bryan.roberts@careeria.fi
tel. +358 44 737 2410