Professional Diplomas and Certificates (18+)

Diplomas are the deep dive, the all-encompassing training programme (8+ weeks to several months) that covers your chosen field comprehensively through multiple modules, projects, and assessments. You can go for full marketing training or professional culinary arts. They take more time but give you specialised expertise that employers notice.

Certificates are the focused sprint—shorter programmes (a few weeks to a couple of months) targeting specific skills within a field. You might get certified in social media marketing instead of studying all of marketing, or Business Communications, rather than Business Management. They're brilliant if you want to add a particular skill quickly or test the waters before committing to a longer programme.

Realistically, you can use both for your career, but the one you choose should depend on your career stage. A certificate is perfect for brushing up on your existing skills or learning a whole new skill in your job—it’s great for upskilling to get a promotion, break into a new role, or work on your own projects. A diploma is better for starting a whole new career, whether it’s your first job or an entire change of direction. Overall, diplomas are generally considered more highly by employers, but both of them have their benefits depending on the situation.

There’s nothing quite like studying abroad. Making new friends, exploring a new city, and learning the do’s and don’ts of a new culture—it makes for some great stories, and you’ll certainly remember it for the rest of your life. But what does it do for your career?

Well, think of it as the ultimate “final test” of your language skills. Everyone knows that good language grades don’t always translate to actually being able to speak, but studying a professional subject entirely in your new language? That takes skill, and it’s a skill that employers will notice when you put it on your CV, even more so when you talk about it in the interview. So, if you think about it, studying your professional qualification abroad is like getting two qualifications for the price of one!