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OVERVIEW

The National Human Resource Development Plan NHRDC seeks to ensure that human resource skills are developed within the workforce in the critical areas such as business management. Risk management has been identi-fied as one such critical area where development is required to ensure that the level of good governance and risk management is raised within the country. Risk Management has become a key supporting activity for practicing managers and an understanding of the theory of Risk Management is of considerable value to any enterprise.

The Post Graduate Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management was introduced by BAC with the hope of bridging the skills gap in the Botswana economy at the moment with regards to the disciplines of enterprise risk management and governance. It is a matter of global consensus that the recent global economic meltdown was primarily caused by poor risk management and governance structures. BAC decided that it was necessary to develop a qualification, which would provide professional executives with the skills to develop and manage risk manage-ment frameworks in their organisations. The programme is designed to enhance their skills in Enterprise Wide Risk Management within the workplace and because the course is designed to run alongside their jobs, it ena-bles them to put the theories into practice. The programme is work-based and will add real value for their future careers and further studies in business and management.

The programme is designed to further enhance their knowledge and skills in the area of corporate governance as it relates to Risk Management and will give them more confidence in their ability to deal with complex situations; they will also learn to communicate effectively via written reports and presentations. They should also gain skills in problem solving, analysing their workplace and communication. The programme was launched in Janu-ary 2012 with 150 students in Gaborone. It has shown tremendous growth in the two years since, with over 400 having completed the programme and an average enrolment of about 250 per cohort. This is a testament of how hungry the market and industry were for such a product and a validation of the foresight shown by BAC’s management and product development structures.

What are the Programme’s Aims?

The programme aims to create an awareness of the importance of enterprise risk management as a vital tool for strategic management and governance within organisations. The program focus on building the requisite knowledge and skills required in order to apply the requirements of recognised theoretical frameworks and models in the day to day implementation of enterprise risk management.

It recognises both the enterprise-wide (or ERM) importance of comprehensive risk management and the growing use of international standards such as ISO 31000 to equip future professional risk managers with the funda-mental knowledge and tools to make invaluable contributions to long-term organisational prosperity. The focus is on producing graduates who can understand, evaluate and implement effective risk management.

The graduate profile is one of a professional equipped with the skills required to:

• Develop a risk management framework for their organisation, including designing the risk management strategy, policy, architecture and protocols;
• Design and implement the risk management processes, procedures and controls;
• Apply international best practice based on recognised frameworks in managing the risk function in their organisation;
• Build and champion a culture of risk awareness aligned with other management activities;
• Facilitate the identification, analysis and evaluation of risks, and design record-keeping procedures.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of existing controls and facilitate the design and implementation of necessary and cost effective control improvements;
• Evaluate risk management strategy, policies and processes, and introduce improvements.

What is the course Structure?

The programme is studied on a part-time basis flexi mode enabling learners to upgrade their skills while working and applying them on a hop-along basis. The modules in the programme have particular importance in continuing professional development and facilitate accreditation of prior experience.

The programme is offered in Gaborone and Francistown Campus in the evenings, weekends and block release. Participants are from a broad industry spectrum such the banking, corporate environment, nongovernmental sectors.

The programme enables them to gain good analytical and problem solving skills that add real value in their profession and across other industries. The Enterprise Risk Management course is made up of six core modules taken over 12 months either on a block release basis or part time in the evenings as follows:

Registration Requirements

• ERM candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree or its educational equivalent from an accredited tertiaryinstitution.
• Certain international professional designations may be accepted as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. Professional work experience will not substitute for an appropriate degree.
• Relevant work experience will be advantageous for students taking this course.

Application Procedure

• Complete the Application form.
• Attach your certified copies of academic transcripts and certificates.
• Submit the application to Registrar’s Office, Office No 28.

Who should take the course

Taking the Postgraduate Certificate Course will confer extended advantages to all candidates who are currently employed within any organisational function especially internal audit, accounting and administration.

• Audit staff.
• Managers and administrators
• Risk management staff.
• Students enrolled in accounting, business, or financial
• degree programs