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RETAIL ADMINISTRATION

START A NEW CAREER IN RETAIL MANAGEMENT IN ONLY 26 WEEKS

BECOMING A RETAIL MANAGER

Ready to take your retail career to a new level? With Heritage College’s Retail Store Administration certificate program, you will learn everything you need to become a manager, supervisor or even business owner in the retail sector. Learn necessary leadership and communications skills, and study resource management, employee recruitment and retention strategies, and conflict management.

Heritage College’s 6-month Retail Administration program is designed to fit around your busy work life. Offered as a part-time program at only 8-hours a week, this flexible  program includes three weeks of hands-on work experience in a Calgary-area businesses, or another partner elsewhere in Alberta. Graduates of our programs receive continuing support from Heritage College’s Career Services department, including help with job search, resume and LinkedIn profile reviews, and interview preparation.

How You'll Learn

Heritage College’s Retail Store Administration certificate has two delivery methods:

  • In-Class: Two days a week at Heritage College’s Northeast Calgary campus.
  • Online: Lectures and theory delivered online, including online assessment.

This program combines lectures, visual aides, hands-on learning via practical exercises, projects, exams and group discussions into an accessible learning experience. Validation of knowledge is done through through exams, practical tests, projects, and practicum evaluation. 

RETAIL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The retail sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the Canadian economy, and skilled retail managers are always in demand. Graduates of the Retail Administration certificate program can find employment as retail store managers, warehouse supervisors, department managers, or even as the owner of their own small business.

For more information about the career of a retail manager, visit alis’ retail manager career information page.

Your education is one of the most important decisions you make in your life. It’s an investment in your future, and it can pay you back in dividends. 

At Heritage College, we work with you to ensure you can afford the education you need to transform your life. We have helped many students get financial aid, and our team is ready to help you make the right decisions for your future as well.

Our admissions team will work with you to determine the options that best fit your own personal financial needs and situation. This program is eligible for Canada Student Loans, other forms of government funding, and scholarships. We can advise you on Alberta Student Aid, personal lines of credit, RESPs, and our own in-house student financing. We work with you to ensure you are securely funded before you start your program, so you start your program confident you will be able to see it through to the end.

You can visit our Tuition and Financial Aid page for more information on how we can help you afford your education. Please also visit our Scholarships and Grants Page for information about current financial aid opportunities exclusive to Heritage College students.

No high school diploma? No problem!

Heritage Career College doesn’t require a high school diploma for our mature admissions pathway. 

You can find additional information about our admission requirements on our Admissions Page. Please also visit our Scholarships and Grants Page for information about current financial aid opportunities.

Practicum Requirements

Retail Business Administration certificate program students complete their education with 100 hours of practicum experience at a partner institution. To participate in the practicum, students must satisfy the following prerequisites.

Graduation Requirements

To successfully graduate from the Retail Business Administration certificate program, students must:

The Retail Administration certificate program at Heritage College is an approved Vocational Program licensed by Alberta Advanced Education.

Heritage College Retail Administration program

Next Start Date

April 9, 2024 - Online Evenings

Course Length

26 Weeks

295 Total Hours
175 Theory | 120 Practicum

Course Offered

In-Class
Online

Earn an average starting wage of

$30.00 an hour

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Fill out the form below for your FREE information package.

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COURSE OUTLINE

Heritage College Retail Administration program

Why Heritage?

Retail manager with customer

APPLY ONLINE

Fill out the following form and one of our Admissions Advisers will get in contact with you to answer any questions you have.

or call us today at

RETAIL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

This is only an outline of our Retail Store Administration program. For more information about our curriculum, please contact our admissions advisers.

This module looks at the retail sector and how it has changed through the integration of technology, different shopping mediums and changes in stakeholder and customer engagement. This course examines where retail is now, and where it is going. It examines the role of the supervisor in the retail sector, and the qualities, skills and competencies required to be effective in this role.

This module looks at the key elements of effective personnel supervision. It will cover the building blocks of team leaders as a role model, the difference between management and leadership, leadership styles and approaches, team motivation, delegation of duties, effective teamwork, and accountability.

This module looks at the importance of building effective and professional working relationships, and how this ties into successes as a supervisor and team leader. The key areas covered include interpersonal skills, conflict resolution and managing from the middle.

This module examines the issues involved with communication and how effective communication when leading and supervising a team. It covers the basic principles of effective communication, methods that can be used to communicate with the team, the barriers that occur when communicating with a team and how to overcome them, and how to effectively organize and lead a team meeting.

This course covers two key elements for being a successful supervisor: time and physical resources. As time is a key resource for anyone, this course explores the basic principles of planning, organizing and time management. Secondly, it examines other resources a supervisor will need to manage and plan to use effectively. Key areas covered will include daily planning, SMART objectives, prioritizing and basic time management principles, types of resources and the responsibilities of a supervisor in dealing with those resources. Finally it will cover the principles of resource planning and control. A pre-module time log and questionnaire will need to be completed prior to attending.

This module will cover the basic elements of problem solving and decision making, skills that a supervisor will need to use every day in all aspects of their work. Specifically, this course will look at the typical problems people face every day at work and the categories the problems fall into (e.g. people problems or systems problems), practical ways to work through problems to find the right solution, and how to prevent the problems from happening again. This course also includes a systematic approach to decision making to help them in any scenario as a supervisor.

As a retail supervisor, it is essential to understand how to attract and retain the right employees for your business, both in terms of the success of your business and your cost effectiveness. This course covers the skills and best practices needed to recruit staff effectively, as well as the issues of effective on-boarding and orientation. In addition, it also examines how to train team members to ensure they can effectively complete their jobs. It looks at the benefits of training to an organization, and the key skills and techniques needed to train your team.

As a retail supervisor, the provision of quality customer service is critical to the role. This will often be done through supervising staff. This examines the philosophy of customer focus, why customers don’t return to retailers or choose other methods to obtain their goods, the importance of being a customer-facing business, the quality performance measures used to provide quality service, transactional responses to customer issues, and understanding the competitive advantages and liabilities of an ‘in person’ retail environment.

Health and safety is critical to any business , especially in a retail environment where there are so many risks to employees and customers alike. This module covers the basics of health and safety management in a workplace, as well as practical knowledge of WHMIS.

Students will learn how to develop their resumes, cover letters and other employment tools which are necessary to gain for their dream positions post graduation.

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