Overview

The employee share plan world is becoming ever more complex and specialised. There has been a growing need for a recognised course to give the background to share schemes and employee ownership and their potential impact on corporate and employee behaviour.

Planning, introducing and managing employee share ownership schemes demands a high degree of professionalism. Share plan professionals must know and understand the core disciplines of equity pay compensation and these form the basis of the ESOP Certificate course:

• The origins and applications of employee share ownership
• The legal, tax and accounting environment
• The business case for ESO schemes and employee engagement

Click for a synopsis of content.

Structure

The expertise of leading practitioners has been recreated online to bring the full perspective of employee ownership to home, office or smart phone.

The ESOP Certificate is a distance-learning course designed specially to maximise the benefits of online learning. This gives the flexibility for students to fit their studies into their hectic work schedules and work at a pace that suits them. Employers can incorporate it into training schemes with ease.

Students follow a structured self-study programme which comprises a mix of reading and weekly self-test exercises. Assessment is by a mixture of coursework, worth 30 percent (typically a short essay or report, submitted online, to a deadline) and examination, worth 70 percent.

Academic timetable

The ESOP Certificate is a 20 week course.

*The coursework tests content in units one to seven only.

Benefits

After completing the ESOP Certificate you will have all the knowledge of a share schemes professional at your fingertips. Here is how:

• Lay a solid foundation
• You will be able to outline the development of employee share ownership in the UK and its current trends
• Add value to your work
• You will feel confident using your knowledge of legal, tax and accounting issues in your day-to-day work or in briefing colleagues.
• You will be able to articulate the main equity pay plan issues and brief clients in general terms.
• Grasp new opportunities
• The ability to build a business case for employee share ownership will enable you to demonstrate the benefits of employee share ownership internally or to clients and colleagues, while being able to take advantage of an expanded network of contacts through the Esop Institute.
• Boost your skill-set
• Stand out and impress impress with a highly regarded professional qualification, developed in partnership with industry leaders.
• Study with maximum flexibility
• E-learning allows you to fit study around your busy schedule. New materials are delivered weekly via the Esop Institute's new website.
• Maximise ROI
• Learn how to maximise return on investment by communicating your share plan well, fostering employee engagement and providing financial education.

Facilities

On the ESOP Certificate website, you can both follow your course and enjoy a common room for discussions with other students. Use it to share knowledge, make freinds and build a network.

Students receive a security key to their own course page/s where they have access to the course materials and other facilities including:

• Weekly blocks of screen based learning materials which can be downloaded and printed for convenience
• Assessment of assignment and exams - including time stamped online submission of course work, post marking feedback and grades
• Recommended learning materials
• Forums - news, tips, technical support and course discussions
• Live chat room to discuss issues with other course participants in real time
• Calendar with key course dates - this can be used for personal schedules
• A message facility to communicate with other course participants or the Institute's staff

The students' pages are secure so only you have access to your grades, personal calendar entries and dialogues.