Business with ESOL: NQ (Level 4)
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Course overview
Start your business career with confidence and build the essential skills employers are looking for.
The NQ Business and Finance (Level 5) course is ideal for anyone beginning their journey into business, administration or finance. It’s perfect if you’re aiming for roles such as administrative assistant, receptionist, customer service advisor or clerical support — or if you want to progress to higher-level business study.
You’ll build strong foundations in administration, digital technologies and core business subjects, including a recognised medical receptionist component. You will also develop confidence using modern workplace systems such as Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams.
This qualification opens doors across a wide range of sectors including financial services, HR, hospitality, retail, marketing, health services, auditing — and even self-employment.
This course is ideal if you:
- Are looking to start a career in business, administration or finance.
- Want to build digital, organisational and customer service skills.
- Are a school leaver, adult returner or someone exploring a new career direction.
- Need a stepping stone towards higher-level business qualifications.
- Want to develop confidence using Office 365, Teams and digital communication tools.
What you will learn
This course may include the following subjects (subject to change):
- Understanding Business – how organisations operate and make decisions
- Social Media for Customer Service – supporting customers online
- Preparing Management Accounting Information – essential financial reporting skills
- Management of People and Finance – HR and finance processes
- Management of Marketing and Operations – promoting and delivering products/services
- Personal Finance (Non-Modular) – budgeting and money-management skills
- Accounting (Non-Modular) – introduction to financial concepts
- Marketing (Non-Modular) – branding, customers and promotion
By the end of the course, you’ll have the knowledge and transferable skills needed to enter employment or progress to the next stage of study.
Entry requirements
Applicants should have one of the following:
✅ Three National 4 qualifications, including English at grade C or above (or equivalent) OR
✅ An appropriate NQ/NC Level 4 qualification in a relevant subject (including Communications at Level 4)
✅ Applicants without formal qualifications are encouraged to apply and will be assessed individually.
ℹ️ For this course, if English is not your first language
- you need to have SQA ESOL National 5 (or equivalent, click here to see equivalent qualifications)
- If you do not have a formal ESOL qualification but your language skills meet this level, you should apply for your course and then contact our Admissions team to organise an internal language assessment here at the College.
Applicants without formal qualifications are encouraged to apply and will be assessed on an individual basis.
Career Opportunities
Graduates may progress into roles such as:
📎 Administrative Assistant
💷 Finance Assistant
📞 Customer Service Representative
🛍️ Retail Assistant
📣 Marketing Assistant
Future prospects
This qualification may allow you to progress to:
- NQ Business & Administration (Level 6)
- Further business study at Glasgow Kelvin College
From there, you can continue towards HNC, HND, and degree-level study in business, finance, or administration, opening the door to an even wider range of careers.
