The modern world is living in unprecedented circumstances, barely emerging from one of the deadliest pandemics to affect the world and one that has ravaged the supply chain in recent years. As of 2022, there are continuing issues with the supply chain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts throughout the world, and also the staffing shortage that emerged from the pandemic. How can you, as a new graduate, find yourself in this world and better your chances of landing a well-paying job and helping a business thrive?
The answer is simple – gain the skills necessary to understand how to best manage the operations of a business. There’s no better way to do this than with a graduate certificate in operations management!
What is Operations Management?
Operations management is the process of managing and overseeing the production and delivery of a product or service from start to finish. This means overseeing the collection of raw materials, research, production, and delivery of the product or service direct to the consumer.
Operations management is a highly complex field, with some of the many components of operations management including:
- Global supply and production issues
- Supply chain logistics
- Forecasting of events
- Exploring marketing trends
- Maximizing operations
- Improving product design
Operations management isn’t something that can be learned through on-the-job training alone. Not only is this a more time-consuming option, but it’s also one that doesn’t guarantee a broad scope of education and knowledge on the most relevant operations management practices.
Why Operations Management Matters in 2022
In 2022, there are a wide range of supply chain issues currently impacting virtually every single business. From food production, to soaring gas prices, raw materials costs rising due to inflation, a shortage of microchips, and halts in production due to COVID-19, all of these have severely impacted businesses worldwide.
In addition, there is now a labor shortage, leading to understaffing, burnout among employees, and an entire host of other issues such as decrease in production.
For companies that want to stay afloat and continue production, they need people trained in operations management who can supply them with:
- Valuable advice on current operational technology and trends
- A new outlook on how to improve operations
- Critical thinking skills to improve their business model, retain employees, and boost production
- Ensure quality continues to be a priority for the benefit of consumers
A graduate certificate in operations management can help you learn all of these skills and more, so you can provide the tools that companies desperately need (and are willing to pay top dollar for).
Benefits of a Graduate Certificate
For those that don’t know, a graduate certificate is a type of post-graduate certificate that can be earned in as little as two semesters. These graduate certificates can help you gain the skills and tools necessary to improve critical thinking skills in a variety of fields, including operations management.
However, they are much cheaper than traditional Masters degrees, such as a Masters in Business Administration degree. Online graduate certificates also have the added advantage of being highly flexible for:
- Students who work full-time or part-time
- Students who want to pay for their course as they go
- Students who are single parents or need to stay home to take care of a loved one
Graduate certificates can still increase the salary prospects of a student. These types of certificates can be earned in a variety of fields, with operations management being one of the most valuable and popular.
In addition, there is no GMAT necessary to enroll in a graduate certificate program. If there are pre-requisites required, these mostly consist of a few core classes and not entire curriculums.
