Award achieved: ABC Awards and Certa Award Certificate of achievement at QLS Level 2
If you have experience of office work and good communication skills, then this is an excellent way to either build a business or supplement your income.
This Home Study Virtual Assistant course will show you how to become a VA and also includes sections on small business bookkeeping and how to register as self-employed.
Contents
Unit 1: What is a Virtual Assistant?
What is a Virtual Assistant?
Who uses a Virtual Assistant and why?
What tasks can a Virtual Assistant do?
What skills will a Virtual Assistant need?
Issues to Consider When Setting up a Home Office
What organisations are available to Virtual Assistants?
Unit 2: How to Market yourself as a VA
Tips on where to Market your Business
How to write a Marketing Plan
Marketing in other countries
Unit 3: Starting Your Own Business – Decisions
How to succeed with your business
How to start up your new business
Getting the right mindset
Unit 4: Starting a Business from scratch
Why start a Business from scratch
Buying an existing Business
Buying a Franchise
Unit 5: Recruiting Staff
How to Recruit Staff
The Process of Recruiting
Unit 6: Dealing with Staff
Introduction to dealing with Staff
Paying Staff
Training and Development
The Law
Discrimination
Health & Safety
Trade Unions
Taxation
Unit 7: Fraud and Theft
Protect your Business: Stop Fraud before it starts
Theft of money
Theft of inventory or equipment
Theft of intellectual property
Unit 8: The Business Plan
Understand the function of the business plan
Reasons for developing a business plan
Identify sources to get help in developing a business plan
Identify the type of information to include in a business plan
Prepare an outline of a business plan
Unit 9: Customer Care an Introduction
What is Customer Care?
Defining Customer Care
Characteristics of effective Customer Care
Unit 10: Customer Care and the Benefits
Increase in profits
Customer loyalty and long-term profitability
Fewer complaints
Staff know what is expected of them
More pleasant work environment
Customer integration and specialisation
Unit 11: Considering a Policy and Plan?
Who are our current and potential customers, their characteristics and needs?
Staff interfacing with customers
What tangible or intangible assets does the company currently have?
Competitor Characteristics
Improvements and additions to Customer Care and Service
Unit 12: Customer Care and You
The Right Attitude
Looking and Sounding Right
Having the Right Information
Keeping Control
Working within a Team
Customer Complaints
Answering the Phone
A Checklist
Unit 13: Customer Care and Service Plans
Contents of The Plan
The Advantages of Planning
Objectives, Strategies And Tactics
Forecast or assumptions of Outcomes
A sample case on Customer Care Planning
Company policies
People aake a Plan work
Current Customer Care and Services
Unit 14: Basics of the Internet
Internet Basics
How the Internet works
Internet Access
Understanding Email
About the Web
Internet Safety
Learning about Viruses
Unit 15: Creating a Web Site
Introduction
Graphic Design
Web site Content
Navigation
Key points to remember
Unit 16: Meetings Skills
Introduction
Why do we have meetings?
Important things to know about meetings
How to plan a meeting
How to run a meeting
Unit 17: Introduction to Conflict Management
What do organisations use conflict management for?
Important things to know about “conflict” and “conflict management”:
How to identify signs and stages of conflict
How to build teamwork and co-operation
How to manage and resolve conflict situations
Outline for a Mediation Session
Mediation Guidelines
Unit 18: Introduction to Planning
What do you use planning and evaluation for?
Important things to know about planning and evaluation
How to ensure planning is useful and contributes to effective results
How to plan – 8 basic planning steps
Unit 19: Introduction to Proof Reading
Introduction
What is Proof Reading?
Tips on Proof Reading
Unit 20: Managing Stress
Introduction
What is Stress?
Symptoms of Stress
Causes of Stress
How to reduce Stress
Unit 21: Managing your Time
Introduction
Managing Time step 1
Managing Time step 2
Schedules
Unit 22: Small Business Bookkeeping
Introduction
Three steps to keeping your Books
Bookkeeping Systems, Software and Method
Accounting terms every business person should know
Unit 23: Inland Revenue Requirements
What type of Business are you?
Registering as self-employed
How to pay your Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs)
Basic Tax Records you must keep.
Study Method
The course is designed for study by distance learning at work or at home. Students receive course manual, assignments and study guide plus tutor support by mail and email. You can start at any time and plan your studies over a period of up to one year from the time of enrolment.
Course Duration
Students may register at any time and have a full year to complete their studies. The course will take around 100 hours of study to complete.
Assessment
Each unit is followed by a written assignment (comprising a portfolio of evidence of learning), which is submitted and then marked by your tutor.
Course Endorsement
At the end of this course successful learners will be given the option to receive a Certificate of Achievement from the Quality Licence Scheme and a Learner Unit Summary (which lists the components the learner has completed as part of the course).
The course has been endorsed under the Quality Licence Scheme. This means that Kendal Publishing Ltd has undergone an external quality check to ensure that the organisation and the courses it offers, meet defined quality criteria. The completion of this course alone does not lead to a regulated qualification* but may be used as evidence of knowledge and skills gained. The Learner Unit Summary may be used as evidence towards Recognition of Prior Learning if you wish to progress your studies in this subject. To this end the learning outcomes of the course have been benchmarked at Level 2 against level descriptors published by Ofqual, to indicate the depth of study and level of demand/complexity involved in successful completion by the learner.
The course itself has been designed by Kendal Publishing Ltd to meet specific learners’ and/or employers’ requirements which cannot be satisfied through current regulated qualifications. The Quality Licence Scheme endorsement involves robust and rigorous quality audits by external auditors to ensure quality is continually met. A review of courses is carried out as part of the endorsement process.
The Quality Licence Scheme is part of the Skills and Education Group , a charitable organisation that unites education and skills-orientated organisations that share similar values and objectives. With more than 100 years of collective experience, the Skills and Education Group’s strategic partnerships create opportunities to inform, influence and represent the wider education and skills sector.
The Skills and Education Group also includes two nationally recognised awarding organisations; Skills and Education Group Awards and Skills and Education Group Access. Through our awarding organisations we have developed a reputation for providing high-quality qualifications and assessments for the education and skills sector. We are committed to helping employers, organisations and learners cultivate the relevant skills for learning, skills for employment, and skills for life.
Our knowledge and experience of working within the awarding sector enables us to work with training providers, through the Quality Licence Scheme, to help them develop high-quality courses and/or training programmes for the non-regulated market.
*Regulated qualification refers to those qualifications that are regulated by Ofqual / CCEA / Qualification Wales
