I was recently asked by somebody what makes our City and Guilds Diploma in Social Media for Business qualification different from all of the other social media courses that you can find online. As I was writing an email to answer this question, I started to think that it might be a good idea to also share this information as a blog post.
Accreditation – why is it important?
Many of the courses that you can find are not accredited with a reputable awarding body. This effectively means that the provider can put in whatever they want and there is no real quality control. You will often get a “completion certificate” issued by the provider rather than a nationally recognised qualification which is aligned to the qualifications and credit framework. Prospective employers want to know that there has been a certain degree of rigour and professional verification involved in the qualification that you have gained and this is where the stamp of approval from an awarding body is extremely important.
Our Diploma in Social Media for Business is accredited with City and Guilds and satisfactory completion of the course leads to a recognised
qualification – a Level 3 City and Guilds Diploma. Concise Training’s Mary Thomas create the first accredited social media qualification in the UK (ITQ Social Media Certificate) , and City and Guilds asked Mary to help create the units and criteria for the Diploma.
You can see Mary speaking at the launch of the City and Guilds Diploma in Social Media for Business here.
Designed and Supported by Qualified Trainers
The resources that we use to deliver the Diploma in Social Media for Business were designed and created by qualified trainers and whilst it is a flexible distance learning qualification, it comes with unlimited tutor support from qualified training professionals. There are monthly online webinars where you are able to discuss your questions with tutors and other learners. You are not just left to “get on with it” on your own. Your tutor is there to support you and not just to mark your work. When your work is marked you receive personalised, individual feedback targeted to extend your learning and the use of social media within your business environment.
The learning resources are very practical and start from a point assuming that you have little or no knowledge of using social media for business but quickly move on to more advanced use. You will learn how to use features of the different social networks but also why you should and what to do with them! You can immediately apply what you have learnt to your marketing.
Feedback from past learners couldn’t have been better and many say that they have learned a great deal even though they thought they knew what they were doing on social media beforehand.
Up to Date Resources
The resources used for the qualification are online modules, accessible from desktop, laptop and tablet computers and covering different aspects of social media. These are updated every 6 months which is necessary due to the constantly evolving nature 
of the social networks. The fact that the course resources are updated like this means they stay relevant and current. This is one of the main reasons that Further Education colleges and national training providers choose us to either deliver their social media courses on their behalf (we deliver the Diploma in Social Media for Business as part of apprenticeship schemes) or they licence our materials for use under their own brands. Our materials are licensed and used by training providers in some very exotic places including the Cayman Islands!
Reviews and Feedback
Feedback from our learners has been extremely positive. Both the reviews that are left on our website (which you can view here) and feedback provided by students to the training providers and colleges for which we deliver the qualification, show that the Diploma is enjoyed and valued by all that take it.
