Learn how to become a business leader or project manager

Businesses need strong leadership to thrive—leaders who know how to think critically, make informed decisions, lead teams and manage crises. Leaders are needed across all industries, and there are some skills that are common no matter where your career may take you.

General Business, Leadership and Management

Studying general business administration gives you an opportunity to explore a variety of practices and skills. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your financial management skills, critical thinking and analytical skills or creative problem solving skills, this area of study prepares students to take on leadership roles in whatever sector is of most interest to them.

You’ll learn about accounting principles, strategic planning, writing, marketing, corporate social responsibility, business law and more. Developing a wide range of skills will position you well for the workforce. If this sounds like you, here are some programs to look into:

• Business - Entrepreneurship and Management
• Business
• Business Administration - Leadership and Management
• Honours Bachelor of Commerce - Management

Agri-business Management

There are some specialty areas of business management, including agribusiness management. Agribusiness is the study of agricultural production—managing every step of the supply chain from farm to table and everything in between.

Agribusiness is a growing industry in Southwestern Ontario, and there is a need for skilled leaders in this field. Agribusiness management programs, like Fanshawe’s Agri-Business Management Graduate Certificate, cover similar topics to general business, but through the lens of agriculture. It is focused on the supply chain, and includes courses in specialty areas such as occupational health and safety, food safety, safe handling and application of pesticides and even precision technologies such as GPS and drone applications.

Project Management

Project management is a fascinating area of business management. Project managers play a key role in ensuring business objectives are met. They oversee the full scope of a project including timelines, deliverables, budgets and risk assessment.

Programs in agile project management, like Fanshawe’s Project Management and Construction Project Management graduate certificates, offer courses in strategic management, project scope, cost management, time management and more to ensure you are ready to enter this interesting field.

Business Analysis

Another area of specialization is a business analysis certificate. If you have strong analytical skills and you’re a great communicator who can think critically and solve problems, becoming a business analyst might be the right fit for you.

As a business analyst, you’ll work with companies to help them improve processes and conduct research and analysis to help them solve business problems that arise as well as navigate change when implementing new processes and solutions.

Career opportunities

There are many career opportunities in business leadership and management, and you can find a role and an industry that best aligns with your interests and skills.

Examples of jobs in this field are:

• store or office manager
• sales manager
• project manager
• project assistant
• construction area manager
• business analyst
• business executive