Here is Telefina's story:
''I am Telefina Mwanza Musa, I live in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province in the city of Ndola. Reading, cooking, and baking are some of my favorite pastimes, and I have taken my passion for baking to the next level by making birthday cakes for friends, family, and clients sometimes. I have also taken my passion for reading to better myself and leadership and management are the two areas I have an interest in. I am small-scale farmer, I rare chickens and grow vegetables for sale as well. Regarding my professional life, I have more than ten years of experience working as an administrator in international organisations funded by various donors, where I have supported a wide range of departments to achieve goals and set targets. My admin experience has enabled me to develop an interest in helping small businesses during their start-ups since I have been exposed to dealing with various clients, so customer service management is one of the things I get to help with during start-ups.
When I first got employed, I was assigned to the Data and Monitoring and Evaluation Department. However, there was an opening in Administration, so I was transferred there since I had a level 4 Diploma and was studying some level 5 courses at the time. I was able to work in administration because of the ABE diploma I was studying. Most of what I was reading about, such as managing people, human resource management, financial accounting, and so on, I was able to apply to my day-to-day job activities, and this was one of the things that motivated me to stay with the program. I had highly demanding jobs, but the ABE program's flexibility allowed me to finish my education. I completed the majority of the ABE diplomas through self-study; I was only in full-time school for level 4 and a portion of level 5, but the rest of the courses I completed on my own as I did not have time to be in school, and work at the same time, and I needed the qualification, so I persisted. I was unable to complete the program around the conclusion of level 6 in 2017 due to a personal commitment, and this is when the curriculum changed. It was quite upsetting for me since I just had three classes remaining to complete the program. When I was ready to proceed, I was informed that the new curriculum required me to take one level 5 course and all level 6 courses. I can say that I am relieved that the curriculum has changed! The new ABE programs were quite fascinating to read, and I really appreciated them. When I finished level 6 in 2022, I registered in a degree program at the University of Greenwich and was admitted into the final year of the Bachelor of Arts Degree. Thanks to the revised ABE curriculum, the Greenwich program was extremely doable for me and now I have a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Business Studies from the University of Greenwich.
ABE was recommended to me by a lecturer in 2011. I was looking for a program that was affordable especially since I was job hunting at the time. One of the lecturers told me about the ABE program and explained that it was a good professional qualification, so I decided to start it. I did the program full-time for one semester (level 4) and when I was done with level 4 I found a job but it was not related to my ABE qualification, it was a job in the data department because I held a Diploma in Telecommunications Systems and Networks at the time. A few months into the job I was moved to the administration department which was business management related. I believe it was the ABE qualification that paved the way for me to get the admin job when I was subjected to interviews and I performed very well as I was able to relate the questions that were being asked to what I was learning despite not having any work experience in administration. A few months into the job, I gained confidence to perform my role as an Admin Assistant. I have 11 years of experience in office administration and management and have a knack for leadership among others.
Currently, I work as a Sales Administrator.
In my previous job, I derived satisfaction from the significant impact I was able to make in the lives of individuals. Specifically, I was involved in a Malaria project that aimed to alleviate the malaria burden among individuals residing in peri-urban regions through the implementation of insecticide spraying and distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Witnessing the genuine gratitude expressed by the community members towards the presence of individuals who genuinely cared about their well-being and sought to mitigate the impact of malaria in their lives was particularly rewarding.
My advice is that the ABE program is very commendable as it offers a multitude of enriching opportunities for personal growth and intellectual expansion. The curriculum facilitates the acquisition of information and comprehension pertaining to various occurrences within the corporate and commercial domains. It is important to thoroughly engage with the courses and supplement this engagement by thoroughly reviewing the relevant journal articles. One of the many advantages of ABE is that it enables individuals to flourish and adapt to various industries.''