First graduates with Contact Centre degree

This week, the first students graduate from University of Ulster with a BSc degree in Customer Contact Planning & Management.

This was as part of the new partnership which sees the Professional Planning Forum and Ulster Business School join together delivering the course.

A blend of best practice, practical research and academic rigour, the programme introduces key concepts and tools in developing the skills of planning analysts or frontline operational managers. The students, coming from organisations such as UKAR, Lloyds TSC, Yorkshire Ambulance and Liverpool Direct, also took part in a range of vocational based academic projects including internal process reviews, external benchmarks with another business and an innovation project.  The projects have seen some wonderful benefits, both to the students in terms of demonstrating the skills they had developed, as well to the business – with some students delivering efficiency gains in excess of £20,000.

Chief Executive, Steve Woosey explained, “This week is the culmination of a lot of hard work both by the Planning Forum team, the Ulster Business School and the students who produced some amazing work during the pilot 6 month programmes. We congratulate all our graduates.”

Since these students commenced study, the programme has been extended to a full BSc programme allowing students to undertake part time study with a vocational focus related to their current and future roles.  Excitement within the customer contact community is evident with the induction of 22 new students for both the Advanced Diploma and BSc programmes last week.

Course Director Tim Moruzzi commented that his colleagues from the Business Institute at the University of Ulster had remarked on the high level of commitment and enthusiasm from those attending the induction process and explained that they are as excited as the students in the continuing delivery of these new and exciting programmes.