Edward Davis studied the QQI Level 5 Certificate in Business Studies at Cavan Institute. He wasn't sure about what he wanted to do after his leaving cert. Edward shares his story here.

"The only subject I enjoyed doing in school was business. I decided to go to Cavan Institute to see was business really for me. After attending Cavan Institute I realised that I did enjoy business and felt this is what I should stick at. I was still unsure about the type of business course I would like to branch off into, so I decided to use the Cavan Institute career guidance service. By attending a career guidance meeting it made me realise the various courses I could get into by getting good grades in Cavan Institute. This motivated me to aim higher. To get into my chosen course, Bachelor of Commerce Global Experience in NUIG, I used my QQI Level 5 award in Business, applying through the CAO under the Higher Education Links Scheme (HELS).

I was offered Commerce Global Experience in NUIG in the CAO round zero offers.

The various modules in the business course in Cavan Institute helps give a better understanding of what you may or may not like. I enjoyed the accounting and economics modules a lot, which is why I am doing global commerce as it also includes them, even though I did neither of these subjects in secondary school. All subjects in Cavan Institute are taught from scratch. I also do excel in my current course and it is similar to the spreadsheet module in Cavan Institute, so I felt I had a bit of an advantage. Another big benefit from Cavan Institute is that we learned from the start how important referencing is and it does carry on to college. I was lucky to also have a good knowledge of Harvard referencing before starting my course. For my work experience in Cavan Institute I applied for the Erasmus placement and fortunately was accepted, this gave me the opportunity to work abroad, which in my case was in the UK. I went for 2 weeks on paid work placement which benefited me a lot as I gained a lot of experience in a business over the 2 weeks.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed Cavan Institute was the continuous assessment, I feel this suited me a lot more than studying for just one big exam at the end. I feel it is the best way for students to succeed instead of one big exam at the end of the year. Cavan Institute helped benefit me in various ways and got me into the course that I’m in today. I would recommend studying at Cavan Institute to anyone. I didn’t realise myself that by achieving in Cavan Institute it can help you get into nearly any college business course at higher education level."

Thanks for sharing your great insights with us Edward. We wish you continued success in your studies and career.