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National 5
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Why study Administration and IT?

Administration is a growing sector which cuts across the entire economy and offers wide-ranging employment opportunities. Moreover, administrative and IT skills have extensive application not only in employment but also in other walks of life.

This course is designed to help you to understand and take part in the business and information environment. You will gain skills in managing information, organising, planning, problem solving and decision making.

The skills that you develop in Administration and IT are useful in many career areas such as office work, economics, human resource management, management services and public services administration.

What do I need to get in?

Entry is at the discretion of the school or college but you would normally have achieved:

What will I study?

Administration and IT is a practical course that develops a wide range of skills for learning, work and life. You will learn how to use a range of computer software to carry out administrative tasks, support departments within an organisation and organise events.

The course has three compulsory units. The units are similar to those for National 4, but you will be expected to produce a higher standard of work.

Administrative Practices (6 SCQF credit points)

You will learn about:

  • administrative tasks needed to organise and support small-scale events
  • key workplace legislation affecting employees
  • good customer care.

IT Solutions for Administrators (6 SCQF credit points)

You will learn how to:

  • use word processing applications to create and edit business documents
  • use spreadsheets and databases applications to manage and manipulate information.

Communication in Administration (6 SCQF credit points)

You will learn how to:

  • collect and share information from the internet and intranet
  • prepare information using multimedia and desktop publishing
  • communicate using electronic methods.

How will I be assessed?

Course Assessment (6 SCQF credit points)

Units will be assessed internally by your school or college as 'pass' or 'fail'. Your work will be assessed on an ongoing basis throughout the course. Items of work might include:

  • practical work – such as leaflets, presentations or documents
  • projects
  • question papers/tests.

Units do not contribute to your overall grade but to achieve the course qualification, you will need to pass all units plus a course assessment.

The course assessment for this course consists of an assignment component where you will be asked to work through a series of planning, support and follow-up stages for a specific event. You will apply your advanced IT skills using spreadsheets, database, word processing and problem solving skills. The assignment component will be set and externally marked by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

The course assessment is graded A-D. 

What can I go on to next?

If you complete the course successfully, it may lead to:

Further study, training or employment in:

Which jobs are related to this subject?

Where can my parents find out more?

Your school will give your parents an Options or Choices information booklet, which has detailed information on the curriculum and the individual subjects or courses you can study. It will also invite them along to a Parents’ Information Evening.

They can also read the information leaflet(s):

Nationals in a Nutshell - Administration and IT (National 5)