Lockdown won’t stop Hannah

Hannah McKeown (18) from Loughiel completed the two-year Extended Level 3 Diploma - which is an equivalent standard of 3 A levels - while working for the Business Services Organisation from home.

She plans to return to the College in September to enrol on the HNC in Business and then progress to do a Business Studies degree, which is also available at the Ballymena campus.

“This is a lot more affordable than going to university to do a degree - and it’s also closer to home,” she said pragmatically.

Hannah explained that she got a job with BSO last summer and, when she returned to College in September 2019 to do the second year of the Diploma, she was offered part-time work with the organisation. BSO provides regional business support services to the health and social care sector in Northern Ireland. Hannah accepted the opportunity and said her part-time job really helped her understanding of the relevance and application of what they were learning in class.

She attended College four days a week and worked one day with BSO but since the lockdown in March, Hannah has worked full-time for BSO from home in an accounts role processing invoices. She said she would no hesitation recommending studying at Northern Regional College to anyone interested in Business.

Hannah said: “I have 10 GCSEs so could have stayed on at school to do my A Levels, but I didn’t think that was the right decision for me.

“If I had stayed at school, I would have had to pick an A level subject I wasn’t really interested in. I knew that I would enjoy learning all about business but because I’m still not sure what area to specialise in, the Level 3 Diploma suited me best and it’s also a good progression route to getting a Business degree.”