Business English Certificate (BEC) Vantage
Welcome to the BEC Vantage Home page, where you can find all the information and help you need to start preparing for BEC Vantage.
Click on one of the steps to learn more about the exam.
BEC Preliminary | BEC Vantage | BEC Higher | ICFE | ILEC
ABOUT BEC VANTAGE
The Business English Certificates (BEC) from Cambridge ESOL have been created specifically for individual learners who wish to obtain a business-related English language qualification. By taking an internationally recognised business qualification like BEC, you can show that you have learned English to an appropriate standard and can use it in a professional context. The BEC Vantage is an intermediate-level Cambridge ESOL exam, at Level B2 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
What is Level B2?
What's in BEC Vantage?
The table below shows you the different parts of BEC Vantage. You can also view the BEC Vantage papers in more detail.
| Paper | Content | Time | Marks (% of total) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Reading |
5 parts | 1 hour | 25% |
 Writing |
2 parts | 45 minutes | 25% |
 Listening |
3 parts | about 40 minutes including transfer time | 25% |
 Speaking |
3 parts | 14 minutes per pair of candidates | 25% |
SUPPORT FOR BEC VANTAGE
To help you get started, Cambridge ESOL have lots of FREE material which you can download for BEC Vantage.
BEC Vantage Information for Candidates (English)
(562 Kb)
Understanding your Statement of Results (356 Kb)
Summary Regulations for Candidates (44 Kb)
Sample Papers
BEC Vantage Sample Papers 
(16 Mb)
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT BEC
Margrit Walter-Wettstein, Berufsbildungszentrum Weinfelden, Switzerland
At our school we prepare our students for BEC Preliminary because it is a realistic goal for a 3-year course. We encourage them to attend the BEC Vantage course on a voluntary basis.… It is a good opportunity for them to get in addition an international language certificate during their commercial training.
