BA Hub Simulation Programme — In-person business analysis course

Who it's for

Built for people starting out

No prior BA experience needed — just willingness to work and willingness to be wrong. Three kinds of people share the room, on purpose.

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Career changers

Moving into BA from another field

You’ve done the reading and you understand the role. Now you need the experience to point to when you walk into an interview — and a story for why your background makes you better.

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Aspiring & new BAs

Little or no BA experience yet

You’re at the start, maybe overwhelmed by the jargon and frameworks. Six weeks of doing the actual job — with feedback — before you ever have to do it for real.

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Returning professionals

Back after a break or redundancy

Your confidence and your portfolio have both gone a little stale. Get them back — along with the current tools and a body of work to show — in six weeks.

Made redundant in Wales? See the funded 2-week option →

How it works

Three real projects. Increasing rigour.

Each runs over two weeks, in a different sector and a different type of BA project — software, then business change, then data & analytics. The scaffolding reduces as you go.

Weeks 1–2 · Software BA

Hartley’s Pharmacy

A community pharmacy

Find the real problem before anyone jumps to a solution. Run your first stakeholder kick-off, write and test a problem statement, map the as-is process, build a stakeholder analysis, then turn it into requirements and user stories.

Weeks 3–4 · Business Change BA

Greenbrook Home & Garden

A 42-store retailer

A broken click & collect process and four contradicting stakeholders. Build a POPIT gap analysis, a business case grounded in real numbers, and an options appraisal with a clear recommendation — then defend it to a steering committee through a mid-project budget cut.

Weeks 5–6 · Data & Analytics BA

Northwind Leisure Trust

A not-for-profit leisure trust

£1.2m of funding depends on reports the charity can’t produce. Untangle membership data spread across three systems, define a single source of truth, surface a serious GDPR risk in sensitive health data, and build the reporting — then pull your portfolio together and present to a panel.

How your week runs

Five days a week, 9am to 5pm every day. Monday and Friday are taught live online — to brief and prepare at the start of the week, then consolidate and reflect at the end. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are in person, where the real work happens. Stakeholders are role-played by real people, briefed in advance — they’ll give you too much information and too little, sometimes in the same conversation. That’s the point.

What you leave with

Proof you can hold

The thing that actually gets beginners hired isn’t a certificate — it’s being able to show real work and talk through every decision you made.

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A real BA portfolio — deliverables from three simulated projects you can talk through in any interview.

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A CV that reflects capability, not just aspiration — with a clear narrative for your background.

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Interview practice using real BA interview questions, and a final presentation to a professional panel.

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The tools, practically — process mapping, stakeholder analysis, business cases, requirements and more.

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2 months’ free BA Hub access — the platform, templates and your BA assistant, yours from day one.

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A free copy of the Business Analyst Blueprint — Jo’s book on breaking into BA, yours to keep.

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A cohort of peers — colleagues for six weeks, and a network afterwards.

The Business Analyst Blueprint book cover, by J E Jones

Included with every place

Two free gifts to take with you

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The Business Analyst Blueprint by J E Jones — your free copy. A method book, not a textbook: how to think, talk and work like a BA from day one.

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2 months’ free BA Hub access — the online platform where business analysts do the actual work, yours to keep using long after the course. You’ll practise on simulated projects across software, data, process and change, build a portfolio, and get CV and interview support — with Billie, the built-in BA helper who knows BA methodology, beside you the whole way. Everything is built in:

🗺 HubFlow diagrams🧩 HubSketch whiteboards🗒 HubNote meeting notes🎤 Workshop Simulator📄 15+ BA templates📁 Portfolio & CV builder💬 Interview prep

Why learn with me

Taught by someone who does it — and teaches it.

I’m a practising business analyst and a qualified teacher. I train new BAs for a living, so I know how to take someone from “I think I’d make a good BA” to producing work that stands up in front of a hiring manager.

This isn’t theory from someone who left the job years ago. It’s the real method, in a small room, with personal feedback.

Chartered IT Professional (CITP) Diploma & Advanced Diploma in Business Analysis First-Class BSc Computer Science 8 years a working BA Coach to new BAs Level 3 teacher trained

A business analyst at a whiteboard covered in sticky notes, planning with MoSCoW

Only 10 seats per cohort.

Places are limited and they go to the people who put their hand up early. Register your interest — it’s free, it’s not a commitment, and you’ll be first to hear when seats and early-bird pricing open.

on the interest list · 10 seats

Cohort 1 — places open now

Register your interest

No payment, no commitment. Just a heads-up when seats open.

Your name *

Email *

What best describes you? *

Which course are you interested in? *

Which town/city are you near?

Anything you’d like me to know? (optional)

Prefer email? Message me directly

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You’re on the list

Thank you — I’ll be in touch from email as soon as cohort dates and early-bird seats are confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Questions

Before you commit

Do I need a BCS certificate or qualification first?

No. UK employers hire business analysts on demonstrated capability — the ability to do the work and talk through it — far more than on any single certificate. This course is a hands-on, portfolio-led programme rather than an exam-prep or accredited certification course; it builds the capability that gets you hired. It’s taught by a Chartered IT Professional (CITP), so you’re learning from someone with professional standing in the field.

Do I need any prior BA experience?

None at all. The programme is built for beginners. You need a willingness to work and a willingness to be wrong — that’s genuinely it.

Is there a shorter course, or help with the cost?

Yes. Alongside this six-week programme there’s a focused two-week course — open to anyone who wants a shorter, faster route in. And if you’ve been made redundant in Wales, Welsh Government grants such as ReAct+ may cover its cost — often the full fee. See the two-week funded course →

How much time does it take?

Five days a week over six weeks, 9am to 5pm every day. Monday and Friday are delivered live online; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are in person — 18 in-person days plus 12 live remote sessions in total. Light touchpoints between sessions, nothing that’ll ruin your evenings.

Is £3,400 worth it?

A business analyst role typically pays £35,000–£50,000+. The course is a fraction of that and well below the cost of most tech bootcamps. There’s a payment plan to spread the cost, an early-bird price for fast deciders, and many people get their employer to fund it. If you’ve recently been made redundant, also look at the shorter, potentially fully funded two-week course.

What do I need to bring?

A laptop — any device that opens a browser reliably. If that’s a barrier, tell me and we’ll sort it.

Become a business analyst by being one.