Thinking of furthering your education? Based on the Census of Population 2020 report, nearly half of the Singaporean workforce above the age of 25 possess a professional qualification, degree or diploma. With this in mind, the type of skills your degree equips you with can be crucial. Among the courses available, a business degree has always been popular but is also commonly believed to be too general and less valuable than specialised programmes.
Contrary to this popular belief, being less specialised can be an advantage. With a business degree, you can gain a holistic perspective of diverse business functions that helps you work better with individuals in other departments. Understanding different functions may also give you greater flexibility to move between different roles. But most importantly, a business degree can equip you with soft skills invaluable to your personal and professional life.
- Soft Skills
According to The Job Market Outlook for Grads study, soft skills played a vital role in determining whether a candidate is hired in 93% of companies surveyed. This is because the economy is increasingly becoming interconnected, and employers are looking for people who possess the soft skills to interact effectively and harmoniously with other individuals. By pursuing a degree in business that focuses heavily on coursework such as the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Business Administration, you can gain ample opportunities to collaborate with others. These interactions can teach and enable you to polish soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership, which are essential in any workplace.
In fact, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a professional accounting body, has highlighted the need for present-day accountants to possess a mix of soft skills to be successful in their careers. Taking this a step further, ACCA also launched a Continuous Professional Development programme for accountants to learn soft skills like emotional intelligence, creativity and vision. Thus, studying a business degree that helps you gain these soft skills gives you a significant advantage when competing for jobs after graduation. Additionally, as senior roles in companies typically involve more people management work than technical skills, soft skills can dictate how far you progress in your career upon graduation.
2. Effective Communication Skills
By pursuing a degree in business, you will also gain exposure to sales and marketing subjects, which have curriculums that focus on teaching active listening and understanding different audiences. When you gain these skills, it enables you to better understand the perspective of others and react with empathy.
Consequently, this helps you to become a more effective communicator. When you learn to convey your thoughts and feelings better, it facilitates your interaction with others, fostering deeper connections. Thus, you can easily build stronger relationships that can give you an added advantage within and beyond the workplace.
- Art of Negotiation
Whether it is bargaining with suppliers, closing sales deals, or reaching a mutual agreement with teammates, negotiation is often involved in most part of the business processes. Thus, pursuing a business degree provides numerous opportunities for you to put theory to practise in a broad range of modules. Apart from this, you will also be equipped with more tools that help you become better negotiators, such as the ability to analyse data and use them strategically during negotiation.
As a result, this allows you to be more skilled at handling any negotiation situation you might encounter upon graduation. This can make a big difference in your personal and professional success. For instance, with good negotiation skills, individuals are more adept at achieving a win-win situation, enabling all parties involved to achieve their goals without damaging relationships. With a positive relationship maintained, it helps reduce the barriers that you face when you try to get your work done. In the work context, clients will also be more likely to work with you again on future projects.
Stay Ahead of the Competitive Business Landscape with PSB Academy
With a wide range of skills gained through a business degree, not only does an education in this field provide you with job opportunities, but it also allows you to gain critical life skills that can set you apart from the rest. PSB Academy strives to equip students with the skills and knowledge to achieve their professional and personal best. That is why we offer seven business bachelor’s degree courses with different specialisations:
- The University of New Castle, Australia Bachelor of Business
- Webster University Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
- University of Hertfordshire Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Business Administration
- Edinburgh Napier University Bachelor of Arts Business Management
- The University Of Newcastle, Australia Bachelor of Commerce
- Coventry University Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Business and Marketing
- Coventry University Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Business and Finance
Committed to delivering industry-relevant education, our courses are offered by university partners from the UK and Australia. These include Coventry University, Edinburgh Napier University and The University of Newcastle, Australia. As an Academy of the Future, students can also expect a mix of learning, practical work and networking experience during their time with us. With a holistic approach to teaching and learning, we are confident in preparing students to be future-ready and helping them gain a competitive edge. today to learn more about our business degree courses or for further advice on selecting the right programme.
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