On 16th June Jane Scott, Careers Advisor and Student Recruitment Officer for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, came to the College to run a business game for 31 students. Jane also gave a presentation about the different routes into Chartered Accountancy which identified the important employability skills that are developed through the game.

The game was based on a case study of a smoothie business. The students worked in teams and were given a series of problem solving tasks to complete including; analysing a case study, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of three potential options and devising a menu. The teams had to determine the selling prices and calculate both the costs of the products and the profit earned by the business. The game culminated in a six minute presentation by each group recommending which strategy to follow. Jane judged the groups on teamwork, communication, the quality of the content and delivery of the presentation. Congratulations to the winning team that comprised Adam Bradbury, Thomas Holderness, Victor Tavares and Miles Weston.

Jane was impressed with the application of the students and with the quality of the presentations made. The students found the afternoon enjoyable, informative and fun.

Students James Hirth and Philippa Cairns commented, ‘‘We thought it was very helpful as a team-building exercise and showed how the data in a case study might be used in reality’.’

Business student Natalia Svobodova added, ‘’It gave me an insight into the different aspects of accounting and allowed us to work well in teams, completing tasks efficiently and effectively.’’

Alan Bentham, Curriculum Manager for Business said, ”This was a brilliant demonstration of using the top 5 employability skills (problem solving, team working, communication, critical thinking and creativity) as identified in a recent Economist Intelligence Unit report ‘Driving the skills agenda: Preparing students for the future. “