The finance industry incorporates a broad range of disciplines all focused on managing money. Commercial banking, corporate finance, financial planning, insurance, investment banking, private equity, and real estate are some of the areas under the finance services domain, but all industries encompass some elements of finance management. Opportunities in finance are competitive but plentiful. A broad range of skills are needed and continual education is necessary. Part-time courses range from introductions to finance to courses focussing on specific skills, all of which offer practical education and an opportunity to network with colleagues.
Introductory courses are offered on-site and by distance learning. Procad Training in Limerick offers a two-day intensive finance course for non-finance professionals. The course explains what the key financial statements mean, how they work, and how they relate to each other. The course offers participants an understanding of the financial tools and techniques needed to improve planning and budgeting skills and become a more effective manager.
Other introductory courses target students who wish to pursue a career in finance specifically, and areas such as bookkeeping, management accounting, and credit control are usually covered. The College of Management and IT (CMIT) offers a six-month distance-learning certificate in business finance. Successful learners will receive a Level 2 NCFE Award certificate in Business Finance, roughly equivalent to a FETAC Level 4 Award. Pitman Training in Dublin offers a distance learning course in business finance over six weeks fulltime or fifteen weeks part time. The Pitman Training Foundation in Finance Diploma covers the primary book-keeping disciplines, including computerised accounting.
Other courses focus on niche subjects and open up opportunities for employment in particular areas. Specific courses are often written and presented by experts who have knowledge and experience in these areas. These courses can enhance career prospects by providing in-demand services to employers, and also allows students to meet a large number of like-minded colleagues and develop a network of contacts in a range of businesses.
The twenty-week Certified Payroll Technician course offered by the Irish Payroll Association provides payroll personnel with practical training and a nationally recognised qualification. The Irish Payroll Association also offers a Certified VAT Technician course by distance learning. The qualification is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the Irish VAT system, the single greatest tax liability that most companies incur and the largest source of tax recoveries on Revenue audits. The course assumes no prior knowledge of VAT on the part of students and it introduces them in a logical and progressive manner to the VAT implications and treatment of a huge range of business transactions.
The Leading Edge Group offers a fifteen-week course culminating in the Lean Green Belt Certification. Lean is an approach to streamline business activities through continuous processes in order to create a better service. This course introduces Lean concepts, tools, and practices and how they can be effectively applied to service-oriented strategies. This course in particular, and many others like it, offer practical training to encourage and support professionals by structuring learning so that participants develop, initiate, and complete a project within their own organization as part of their training. Participants who successfully complete the programme receive Lean Green Belt certification from CPA Ireland.
Most universities, institutes of technology, and business schools offer undergraduate degrees in Financial Services, some of which also offer specialisations in economics. Among the many providers, The Dublin Institute of Technology offers a Bachelor of Science in Financial Services, focussing on economics and finance, and the interplay between the two. The National College of Ireland offers a BA in Financial Services and focuses entirely on finance theory and practice.
These are a selection of the types of courses available. There are many more to suit individual requirements and can be found at findacourse.ie. The finance industry, now more than ever, needs skilled and motivated employees committed to continual learning and solving problems creatively.
