Jersey Students Achieving a Global Distinction
IoD Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction

10 March 2011

Students in Jersey have achieved global success with their IoD results. In June 2010, 135 students sat the IoD certificate exams worldwide, which resulted in 11 distinctions. Two of those grades were achieved by professionals studying at Jersey International Business School in the Channel Islands. In November, the diploma figures equalled the same output of 11% distinctions worldwide, and again two students were from Jersey.

Sara Clews, Head of Marketing & Events at the Business School was able to speak with Craig Franklin, Managing Director of Cronus Consultancy Ltd, who achieved exam success in 2010.

SC: In such a tough and time critical climate why did you make the decision to commit to such a challenging qualification?

CF: However old or senior you may be you need to keep learning and especially during these challenging economic times. From what I knew about the qualification I understood that the outcome would be worth such a commitment and put me in a more confident position to take our business through a period of change.

Although, like a lot of professional qualifications it deals with UK Law, it is still about best practice. Whilst dealing with Blue Chip companies it is imperative to let our clients know that we have the right benchmark in place for corporate governance and robust decision-making.

SC: Can you define some of the critical outcomes?

CF: The course defines the characteristics of a high-functioning board and distinguishes the different roles, making the understanding behind decision-making a lot clearer for regulators. One of the biggest mistakes made by SMEs is mixing this up.

You are able to formalise your ideas within decision-making frameworks and you leave equipped with the necessary tools to plan better and make changes. I have already seen the benefits at Cronus where we have helped a client become part of our decision-making process.

SC: Why did you choose to study the IoD qualification in Jersey?

CF: There are great networking opportunities and the chance to share viewpoints with other senior personnel from a variety of companies such as IT, Marketing, HR, Funds, Regulation is invaluable.

I won’t disagree that whilst signing up for the course the fear of potential failure was very real but I can draw similarities with a Rugby tour and say that ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’.

SC: What else do you hope to achieve from the IoD Development Route?

CF: Certainly chartered status and whilst two of our directors have already taken some of the qualifications I would like all of the board to go down this route. As a long-term objective I am now keen to become a NED, which isn’t something I had considered prior to taking the IoD.

This year’s Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction will commence at the Jersey International Business School in September. The briefing session will be held on Tuesday 17 May from 12pm-2pm at 12/13 Caledonia Place, The Weighbridge, St Helier.

ENDS

JIBS. Providing competitive up-skilling in a global market