CPBA (Certificate in Practical Business Administration)

The Certificate in Practical Business Administration (CPBA) is an a one-year Further Education and Training (FET) course that is accredited at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 4 by the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA). The aim of this course is to prepare students for the formal workplace and, for this reason, the programme includes a significant practical component.

Students are required to work in a range of small on-campus businesses as part of the practical component of the curriculum.  These businesses provide a range of services to clients both on and off the TSiBA Eden campus.  They include a bakery, campus cleansing, kitchen, laundry, clothes shop, coffee and snack bar and organic vegetables.  Students are rotated through the businesses during the year they all take turns in the programme’s finance department.  The entire group and the entrepreneur programme staff get together in weekly management meetings to allocate tasks and make strategic decisions. 

The practical component of the programme provides students with hands-on training and experience in the workplace and the opportunity to apply to run their own small businesses, should their business plan qualify them to do so. Students earn a virtual salary in accordance with the in-house campus bartering system based on a currency of token units aimed at yielding a modest cash-in amount at the end of the year. In this way, learning happens through the simulation of real-life business.

The CPBA programme, which is only offered at TSiBA Eden currently, also includes theoretical subjects such as English and Maths, Environmental Studies, Life Skills and IT. All student businesses are also provided with skills training in Project Management, Marketing and Sales, Bookkeeping, Leadership and Team Management, Production, Financial Planning and Strategy, Labour Law and Human Resources.
Students who pass the course with the required competency NQF level 4 can apply for entry into the NQF Level 5 Higher Certificate in Business Administration (HCBA). To apply for admission to TSiBA Eden, please visit Apply to Study.