Credit certificate program
Want to get ahead in your management career? With this part-time program you’ll gain the skills you need to succeed in management, supervisory and leadership roles.
Career opportunities
Supervisors, managers and leaders are expected to do more with less, working in increasingly complex and competitive work environments. If you’re already in a management role, this program provides practical skills and tools for you to refine your ability to manage and motivate individuals and groups.
If you want to transition into leadership and supervisory roles, this program will help. you build skills to take on a management role with confidence.
Note: If you are currently enrolled as a VIU student and have already taken MGMT 192 or MGMT 292, you are not eligible for this program.
Program content
Good leadership begins with effective self-leadership. If we are not personally effective, then how can we hope to lead others? This course focuses on interpersonal and communication skills. In these interactive seminars, you will take part in practical lessons and skill-building exercises related to
- interpersonal and organizational communication skills
- active listening
- how to use power effectively
- coaching
- conflict and anger management
- assertiveness
- giving and receiving feedback.
Course code: MGMT 145 S25N70
Course dates: January 17-18 and January 31-February 1, 2025
Delivery: In-person, 4 Sessions: Fridays, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
The "teamwork" concept has been around for a long time, and yet most people do not know how to operate within a team. Many so-called teams are simply groups of individuals trying to do their best, but this is not a high-performance team. This course will introduce you to key concepts to build and maintain effective teams. Topics covered include:
- team success factors
- characteristics of high-performance teams
- the stages of team development
- the team leadership role
- team decision-making and problem-solving
- why teams fail
- team meetings
The course also includes a personal online analysis and profile of each participant's thinking preferences. This course will improve how you relate to people who think and act differently.
Course code: MGMT 146 S25N70
Course dates: February 07-08 and February 21-22, 2025
Delivery: In-person, 4 sessions, Fridays and Saturdays, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Supervisors are responsible for doing many things they have not been trained to do – things that are unique to the supervisory role. So it's no surprise they often don't perform as well as they can. This course will provide foundational knowledge and skill-building exercises to better understand and manage:
- new employee orientation
- delegation skills
- interview and selection
- time and stress management
- written communication
- employee motivation
- causes of performance problems
- employment termination
- effective presentations
- performance management
Course code: MGMT 147 S25N70
Course dates: March 07-08 and March 21-22, 2025
Delivery: In-person, 4 Sessions: 2 Fridays and 2 Saturdays, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
The 2024-25 tuition rates are in effect for these courses. For more information, please contact us at fom_pdt@viu.ca or 250.740.6580.
You can register for any of the Management Skills for Supervisors courses on their own and do not need to commit to the entire certificate. Contact Jenna Milne, Admissions and Registration Assistant, at Jenna.Milne@viu.ca.
How to apply
Ready to join us at VIU? As this is a credit program, there is an application fee. There are two ways to apply for the program. You can fill out an Application for Admission form and deliver or mail it to any VIU campus. However, we encourage you to apply online to avoid delays in the process. After you apply, we will contact you about individual course registration.
Fees
See fees for this credit program. Student union fees and activity fees will also be applied. The program coordinator will be able to help you calculate the total fees for this program.
Note: Fees are subject to change annually. This program is not eligible for student loans.
“The course as a whole is full of ideas and tools to use in everyday situations at work. It gives practical scenarios and makes use of different teaching styles to appeal to every learning style. I would highly recommend this course to all managers and administrators.”
– Michelle Laslo
“With minimal previous management experience, I found the program helped me learn some key skills and feel reassurance that I could apply those moving forward. Many of the instructors used an engaging teaching approach that made the experience enjoyable as well as interesting.”
– Ken Wright
“The Management Skills for Supervisors certificate program is a valuable set of courses that have helped to reignite a passion for learning and provided practical skills to implement immediately into my professional workplace.”
– Alana Walker
Questions?
Email fom_pdt@viu.ca.
Get help paying for this course
StrongerBC future skills grant
If you’re a British Columbian over the age of 19, you likely qualify for the StrongerBC future skills grant. This course is eligible for the grant, which covers up to $3,500 in tuition, fees and course materials.