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Celebrating the third cohort of graduates from Jersey International Business School’s (JIBS) University Centre, CEO Chris Usher feel justified in launching the degree at the private provider four years ago.
Having launched the BSc (Hons) International Financial Services degree in 2012, the JIBS University Centre now has 35 undergraduate alumni and another 33 students currently studying across first and second years.
The University Centre set out to establish a high-quality locally available degree that would be recognised by financial services firms as laying a solid foundation for students to achieve long-term career success within the finance industry. The business school has not received any external funding since it was founded in 2010; the degree has been developed around a dedicated team of core lecturers and visiting faculty.
Chris Usher, chief executive officer of Jersey International Business School, explains:
“Our students and alumni are already reaping the benefits of having studied the degree at JIBS University Centre. The two appointments for a nationally advertised graduate programme for a local bank, were both from JIBS, and one of our students has received five job applications prior to graduating.
The degree is awarded by the University of Buckingham, a private university which is ranked first in the United Kingdom for graduate employability. JIBS University Centre’s alumni have a 100% employment rate. Of the 11 graduating students this year, nine chose to complement their studies with an industry placement, with organisations including Moore Stephens, UBS, HSBC, RBS International and Triton, with many being offered graduate roles at these places.
Usher adds:
“At a time where there is increasing scrutiny over the value of higher education, I am immensely satisfied that our degree offers value for money. Not only do our students receive an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of and insight into financial services, they benefit from paid work experience, where they get to put the theory of their degree into practice. We are hugely grateful to the support we have from local organisations, who now allow us to offer over 20 two-year paid industry places to our students.”
The degree covers areas such as law, accounting, economics, taxation, compliance and risk management and marketing, and is studied full-time with tuition fees of £9,750 per annum. Buckingham’s four-term-per-annum model allows students to complete a full degree in just two years. Students, therefore, save on the third year of tuition fees, as well as on accommodation and other living expenses. They are also in paid industry employment two days a week for the duration of the degree.
The JIBS University Centre is now launching a Master’s in International Financial Services, further expanding the private provider’s offering. Leveraging the business school’s close connections with financial services organisations, Usher is confident that more students, of all ages, will be passing through the business school’s doors.
