Springboard courses survey points to how the Irish economy will recover

Springboard Courses in Ireland

Springboard courses survey points to how the Irish economy will recover in 2021 and 2022

Posted 18 August

A new survey by Galway Business School suggests many employers and employees are focussing on the sales and marketing skills of their workers to power themselves out of the pandemic and back to relative normality, closely followed by HR and business data analysis.

What are the most popular Springboard business courses?

Of a host of business programmes offered by Galway Business School under the July stimulus of the popular Springboard scheme - a list which included business entrepreneurship, data analysis, business communications and innovation - the sales and marketing course was the programme of choice for just under 25% of all course participants, narrowly followed by human resources management which was taken by 15% of applicants, and business data analysis with just over 13% of all participants.

How is the popularity of these Springboard programmes connected to economic recovery?

It’s easy to extrapolate possible grounds for this trend, though all respondents had slightly different reasons for following a Springboard course.

It makes sense that companies, and therefore employees are focussing their attention on clawing back market share through sales and marketing efforts. Many have been affected in the extreme by the crisis, and where companies have been forced to put their business activities on hold, there is a growing uncertainty as to the place they’ll occupy in consumers’ minds compared with their competitors, once buyer behaviour has returned to near normal levels. This is not only a domestic phenomenon. The risks of falling marketing share, or the returning market looking or behaving differently is only exacerbated on an international level.

The other reason why sales and marketing courses are being seen as the first stop on the upskilling pathway, is that so much of how consumers have sought out products and services during the pandemic has changed. The huge swing to digital marketing may well risk leaving many more traditionally marketed businesses behind.

CASE STUDY

Julie-Anne Collins found out about the Sales & Marketing Certificate through Springboard, and chose the course in order to upskill whilst temporarily unemployed.

“I think the course is brilliant, I’ve loved every minute of it. My 3 lecturers were brilliant, Fergal Conroy was excellent at teaching communications, Orla Colleran was a mine of information not only as a lecturer but also as someone who works in the sales field & Raza was great at marketing, he made sure we all contributed to his class. Having it online for me was brilliant as I’m not in Galway, I think GBS did a great job, every week the class links worked, they kept us very well informed at all times, both before, during & after the course with a future exam workshop and I don’t think they could improve on what they delivered, it was fantastic.

All going well I would love to go further & delve into Digital Marketing. Already my employer, having heard that I was doing this course, has indicated that our sales & marketing team may need part-time assistance so that would be great for experience, my ultimate goal would be to work for myself.”

Asked if she’d recommend Galway Business School to others, Julie-anne said:

“Don’t even think about it, do the course & do it with GBS, they were brilliant to deal with in every way.”

Human resource management courses have also seen a big upswing in popularity. Again, we can see why this might be the case. Not only have firms struggled with the workload associated with the pandemic, but also, the way companies are likely to operate in the future, from a human perspective, has changed.

The huge realisation has been that not everyone needs to be in the office all the time in order to work effectively, and a large number of employees would value time away from the office as part of their ongoing arrangements. This is a whole new paradigm for human resource management, and an evolution which, without the pandemic, may have taken a decade to play out. Little wonder then, that the latest thinking on organisational development, the role of humans in the workplace, the need for work as a social function, the psychological behaviours around work and colleagues is all up in the air. This is precisely the time when those struggling with the operational realities of human resource management crave some theoretical perspectives and academic reflection to draw on, in order to develop new approaches and mindsets. It’s a very exciting time to be in HR!

CASE STUDY

Martina Murphy chose the Human Resources Management Certificate at Galway Business School after she was temporarily laid off due to Covid-19, and was recommended the course by the human resource manager where she worked pre lockdown:

“I took the HR management course in order to upskill. I thought it was very informative. The online delivery, although at times difficult, was very convenient as I am living in Cork. My tutor was very accommodating and she helped as much as possible. I found her to be very approachable and knowledgeable. I believe it will help me when I return to work as I will be able to jump into HR practices with confidence to help my HR manager. I believe this course module is a great insight into HRM and will help anyone who would like to learn the backbone and history of HRM. I would have been happy for it to be longer. I thoroughly enjoyed my time taking part in the HRM module. I would also like to thank you all at GBS.”

Springboard Courses at Galway Business School

Business data analysis, the third-equal most popular Springboard course option at Galway Business School along with an Introduction to Accounting is possibly, at first glance, a less predictable choice of programme. But with companies so up against it financially, organisations of all sizes need a much more refined understanding of their own viability and sustainability.

During business as usual, one thing that remains more or less a constant is the idea that there will be ongoing demand for what an organisation sells. Sure, demand fluctuates with seasonality, new competitors, and consumer and social trends. But demand rarely stops completely, as it has done for a number of sectors in the last 18 months.

With this has come a heightened need to “do the math”, to plan, budget, forecast, and use hard data to inform decisions like never before. Gut feeling is fine in decision making in a buoyant market, but with so many uncertainties, it has become apparent that outstanding business data analysis, at all levels and by as many employees as possible makes sure that risk is mitigated and fresh opportunities exploited.

CASE STUDY

Colin McCormack, who found out about the Springboard Business Data Analysis course via social media, chose the course to improve his job prospects as he was looking to change role.

“The course delivered a great insight on the material and it was easy to follow throughout its duration. The module was enjoyable if you are willing to work. Colin was a great lecturer, he always had time for questions and queries throughout lectures or outside of class hours. He has a deep insight to data analysis which he was more than willing to share and gives a deeper insight of information rather than just reading off the slides presented, which shows his passion.

The course has helped me see what is needed to be able to move into the career path. The tools provided will help with confidence on using new applications.

This course was well delivered despite Covid restrictions and I was very comfortable with the pace of the course, the 12+ weeks went by quicker than expected. I would definitely encourage those who are interested in learning new skills or looking at a possible career change to apply for Springboard courses in GBS. The opportunities outweigh the risks. Thank you for the time put into this course.

Why do people choose to a Springboard business course?

The Springboard scheme during the pandemic allows those seeking work to attend valuable business programmes free of charge, whilst those in employment only need contribute 10% of the total programme cost. It would be easy to assume that the spike in participants then was about seizing the opportunity to do something for free whilst stocks last. Not so much the case according to Galway Business School’s research.

Whilst 7.5% of respondents confessed to choosing a business course because it was being offered free of charge, 58% cited the opportunity to upskill as being the main driver for participation. 13% were unemployed and 19% were looking to improve their future job prospects as they were looking to change roles in the future.

What do people think about the quality of the Springboard course in Galway they attended with Galway Business School?

Even though a course is free or low cost to participants, it doesn’t mean the course is not going to be enjoyable. In fact, there is often a correlation between the cost of a programme and its perceived value, i.e. if you pay more, you’re going to enjoy it more.

Not so with the Springboard course offerings from Galway Business School, where 92.1% of participants gave their course four or five stars (five being the maximum), with the majority giving a five star rating. Only 7.8% gave the course three stars, which was the lowest recorded score.

98.1% of respondents also went on to say that the admissions and support received during the application process and once on the course was very good or extremely good, that the course they attended had met or far exceeded their expectations, and that they would recommend Galway Business School to other people.

“I would like to thank you all for making the Springboard experience a very enjoyable one. I am a mature student and returning to college after a good few years is daunting. A lot of things were very new this time around in college but GBS were very understanding and helpful. It was also great to be able to contact our lecturers if we had any queries. The staff in the school went above and beyond and even the smallest things like receiving a call to see if I was getting on ok meant a lot. I was also delighted to receive a lovely GBS diary in the post. Well done all. You have been very accommodating and supportive. It is much appreciated.” Donna Byrne, Springboard Certificate in Business Communications participant

If you’d like to get in touch with Galway Business School to find out more about the research, to contact us about the next wave of Springboard courses in business subjects (including Springboard online courses), or check your Springboard eligibility, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email, or phone us on +353 091 529 000.

Find out more about the programmes featured in the research:

Springboard courses survey points to how the Irish economy will recover