BTEC from Pearson

BTEC (Business Technology) qualifications are awarded by Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body offering academic and vocational qualifications that are globally recognised and benchmarked. Pearson is the world’s leading learning company.

Kronenburgh International Business School is recognized by Pearson and is therefore part of Pearson’s international network of vocational and academic colleges, business schools and universities.

Read more about the Higher Nationals.

BTEC is developed in collaboration with a wide range of students, employers, higher education providers, colleges, and subject experts to ensure that the qualifications meet their needs and expectations. BTEC developers also worked closely with the relevant professional bodies, to ensure alignment with recognised professional standards. Therefore, BTEC qualifications are widely recognised by industry and higher education as the principal vocational qualification.

BTEC qualifications in Business are designed in such a way that the students’ needs for high-quality professional education and the demand by international organizations and companies for qualified personnel are optimally met.

BTEC has inspired students in practical, interpersonal, and thinking skills for more than thirty years. There is a great emphasis on employer engagement and work readiness.

The Kronenburgh programmes are build on the BTEC education system: 

• BTEC 3 Extended Diploma in Business;
• BTEC 3 Extended Diploma in Entrepreneurship;
• BTEC4 Higher National Certificate HNC;
• BTEC5 Higher National Diploma HND.

BTEC3 Extended Diploma in Business

Widely applicable within business and further education

In the BTEC3 program students will work on the students employability skills: (1) cognitive and problem-solving skills – using critical thinking, pproaching non-routine problems, applying expert and creative solutions, using systems and technology; (2) interpersonal skills – communicating, working collaboratively, negotiating and influencing, self-presentation; (3) intrapersonal skills – self-management, adaptability and resilience, self-monitoring and development.
Students will also build transferable knowledge and skills for progression to university: (1) the ability to learn independently, (2) the ability to research actively and methodically and (3) the ability to give presentations and be active group members.

Both vocational programs give access to HBO in the Netherlands, but also to bachelor’s degrees at international universities. That is why we speak of a foundation / pre-university program. Generic subjects such as Dutch, English and Mathematics are not part of the curriculum. So interesting for students who do not yet have a good command of Dutch, but do have English; often students from international education.

BTEC5 Higher National Diploma HND.

Career-ready education

The Higher National Diploma programme focuses on the holistic development of the practical, interpersonal, and thinking skills necessary to be successful in work and in higher education.

The program has been developed in collaboration with many employers. Employers are looking for recruits with a thorough grounding in the latest industry requirements and job-ready skills, such as teamwork.

Learners who progress to higher education need experience of research, extended writing, and meeting deadlines. The program addresses these needs.

The programme offers students a broad introduction to the subject area ‘Business’. Students will gain a wide range of sector knowledge tied to practical skills gained in research, self-study, directed study and workplace scenarios. Graduates successfully completing the Higher National will be able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the basic concepts of business. They will be able to communicate accurately and appropriately, and they will have the qualities needed for employment that requires some degree of personal responsibility. They will have developed a range of transferable skills to ensure effective team working, independent initiatives, organisational competence, and problem-solving strategies. They will be adaptable and flexible in their approach to business, show resilience under pressure, and meet challenging targets within a given resource.

During a lecture day, the lecturer discusses the new subject matter. You are also already working on the assignment that goes with the unit (a business case). The assignment is further done as part of your work / internship. In this way you always apply the theory in practice. At the start of the lecture day there is a kick-off test about the subject matter of the previous lecture day. In this way you learn a bit every day in preparation for the exam at the end of the unit. The unit is further concluded with an assessment of the completed assignment and an accompanying presentation. This is Kronenburgh’s Think – Act – Grow approach.

Holders of the Level 5 Higher National Diploma will have developed a sound understanding of the principles in their field of study and will have learned to apply those principles more widely. They will have learned to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems. They will be able to perform effectively in their chosen field and will have the qualities necessary for employment in situations requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making. The program is aiming students to be professional, self-reflecting individuals able to meet the demands of employers in the business sector and adapt to a constantly changing world. More information: www.highernationals.com.

With the Level 5 Higher National Diploma HND you can access the Top-up program at many universities in the field of “Business and Management” or a similar field of study. 

The specifications of the Top-up lecture program and the organization of education differ per university. Keep in mind that the admission requirements of these universities are subject to change. For example, additional or different requirements can be set every year for the level of English and the level achieved HND, etc.

The unit assignment

BTEC units always involve an assignment. Here you apply the theory into practice. You will draw your own conclusions and formulate advice with a critical eye. 

The unit assessment

At the end of the BTEC unit there will be a theoretical exam. Also the student assignment work will be assessed. There always is a ‘devence’ part within the assignment.

Internship: now for real

The internship is an important part of our education: learning on the job. Again we say THINK – ACT – GROW. You work on clearly defined assignments (BTEC3), a business project or a research project (BTEC5).

You can do your Internship with an international working company in The Netherlands or abroad.

Preparing for Business Culture

Time is time, a deal is a deal. These are the primary rules at Kronenburgh.

We see the theoretical lectures as a meeting within the business community (mobile phones are switched off). The chairman (the lecturer) has the floor and expects a contribution from all participants (the students) during the meeting.

The practicum is the moment of the day where you work and learn as an individual or in groups. You deliver quality when performing the tasks that have been assigned to you. If necessary, you seek collaboration with other employees (students) and look for the feedback from your team leader (the lecturer). You receive feedback on the quality of your work every day (end-of-day test), but you also receive a regular review after finishing a job (the unit assessment).

Thursday is business suit day where we finish the day at Plein in The Hague. Also, during business visits, if we welcome external speakers and during assessment presentations, we all wear a business suit.

Study trip: building further

For many students, the study trip in the first year, is one of the highlights of the program. The theme is “Teambuilding in Business”. We visit (Dutch) entrepreneurs: What are their experiences being an entrepreneur in another country? We also have some inspiring group activities (team Building).

Students also appreciate the study trip of course because they gain new joint experiences, for example during the “cultural program” which also includes exploring the city in the evening hours.

Nuffic to compare UK and NL Diploma’s

Nuffic is the European organisation that compares the education systems in the different European Country’s. Although Brexit, this comparison is still up to date. See more informationa about NUFFIC. The BTEC system is internationally recognised by NUFFIC.

Nuffic developped the EQF: the European Qualification Framework.

After primary school and secondary school in the UK there is further education: BTEC3. In the Netherlands there is MBO (middelbaar beroepsonderwijs). UK system BTEC International Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business is comparable with NL system MBO4.

After further education in the UK there is university education BTEC 4-5 and BA/BSc (HONS). In The Netherlands there is HBO (Hoger Beroepsonderwijs / Universitair onderwijs).
UK system BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Business is comparable with NL system HBO year 1 and 2;
UK system BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Business is comparable with NL system HBO year 3.

UK system Bachelor of Science Bsc is comparable with NL system HBO or University Bachelor of Science.

See here for more information about the Nuffic comparison of diploma’s and certifications.