subject: Business Analyst – Best Training Course and Qualifications [print this page] Business Analyst Best Training Course and Qualifications
Finding the perfect business analyst job can be difficult. The role is an important one, acting as the link between the business and its IT functionality. However, once you have found the best business intelligence job, it can prove a permanent and invaluable job, and one of the most sought-after vacancies in all of IT.
You therefore need to be supremely qualified and an attractive candidate to employers. The five best business analyst courses and qualifications will help you become that candidate.
The International Institute for Business Analysts (IIBA)
A lot of business analysts come into the sector without training meaning any qualifications relating to business change will automatically be looked upon favourably. The IIBA (www.theiiba.org) is one of the youngest yet best recognised schools for business analysts, offering formal qualifications and informal advice to help you stand out from the crowd looking for business change jobs.
The IIBA produce the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK), which acts as a revision guide for business analyst jobs . With the BABOK guide, candidates can learn the intricacies of the business analysis sector at their own pace and impress in interview with their gained knowledge.
The BABOK guide can also be used to help candidates read up on the skills needed to take and pass two of the qualifications that the IIBA offer on their website. At entry level, the Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA) acts as a basic qualification of excellence, showing employers that you have the ideal skills and the impetus to make that knowledge in business analysis official.
The Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) designation is the Masters or PhD to the CCBA's Bachelor degree. Designed for those who already have significant experience as a business analyst, this qualification allows candidates to apply for higher-ranking jobs and demonstrates an expertise in all aspects of the industry.
e-skills Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB)
e-skills' ITMB degree is less specialised towards the business analyst sector but has the benefit of giving candidates a much more well-rounded base of knowledge on which to build their CV and impress employers. Eleven universities across the UK offer the ITMB degree, from Oxford to Manchester and Aston to Newcastle. With 50 potential employers including the BBC and SAP helping craft the qualification, the contacts gained from studying for the ITMB degree can help in your search for the perfect business analyst job.
BCS' Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB)
Like the IIBA, BCS (the Chartered Institute for IT, www.bcs.org) offer a variety of courses for IT professionals: they have 70,000 members across the world and have more experience and a wider reach than most other professional institutes.
A clear ladder of qualifications is offered by BCS, including at entry level a variety of designations like the ISEB Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis and Certificate in Business Analysis Essentials, both of which can be used to earn the higher qualification of the ISEB Diploma in Business Analysis.
With individual certificates at foundation, practical and higher levels, you can either specialise in a specific area of business anaylsis or gain a more general qualification in the hope of making yourself more attractive and adaptable to employers. The reputation of BCS' qualifications means that they are a recognised standard of excellence for employers.
By gaining experience and formalising your knowledge of the business analyst sector through one of these five professional courses and qualifications, you can demonstrate skills that employers find invaluable when looking for potential candidates, and find the best business analyst job.
