The bee pollinating a flower to help an entire garden flourish, or the bear carrying a spawning salmon across a forest to add vital nutrients to the entire ecosystem – in nature, these connections are mutually beneficial and have been since time immemorial.
It’s no different in the world of commerce.
BCIT’s Business Operations Management (BOM) program is a vital link between industry and students, where partnerships are forged that can save companies six figures, achieve operational efficiencies and introduce new talent into the workforce.
This two-year diploma program produces experts across any number of in-demand fields: supply chain, quality control, purchasing, warehousing, inventory management, among many others.
BCIT is now looking for new industry partners to team up with the faculty to help students enter the job market, while bolstering the company’s bottom line through internships, practicums and business consulting projects.
“There really is a benefit for both parties,” explains Phil Ramer, BCIT’s associate dean, operations management. “Companies may be lacking the skills to do business analysis. Sometimes they’re just too busy, or they don’t have enough people to take that type of project on. By bringing in students, it’s a sort of ‘try-before-you-buy’ scenario. They’ll do a project, see what the students can do and realize that they can more than pay for that student to join the company.”
To that end, Ramer points to a pair of recent success stories where BCIT graduates completed 10-week internships with local companies. The students successfully analyzed internal processes and came up with recommendations to improve workflow, ultimately saving time and money.
“These companies had to invest minimal money – less than $20,000 – and the return was close to $600,000 annually. We’ve had two companies like that in the last five years,” Ramer says.
In terms of practical, in-class instruction, BOM students learn to analyze, improve and control business processes to ensure the operation runs more efficiently, predictably and cost effectively.
The curriculum is supported by digital business strategies such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), business analytics and various emerging technologies; as well as continuous improvement skills such as project management, process design and improvement and change management to ensure the business can respond to evolving customer demands.
BOM grads learn how to manage, evaluate and improve these critical functions, while gaining a highly transferable set of skills applicable to numerous organizations.
“Business owners can be deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the business, taking them away from more important tasks as leaders,” Ramer explains. “Business operations management graduates can offload business owners of daily tasks, freeing owners for more strategic work to further develop the business.”
BCIT’s hands-on approach through project-based learning allows students to work directly with companies on business consulting projects to tackle real-world challenges. The combination of business acumen, technological proficiency and industry exposure makes BCIT graduates highly competitive upon completion of the program.
“By the time students finish at the end of May, employers are ready to hire,” Ramer says, “We’ve had a number of students land jobs that way.”
In addition to BOM and other programs within Business Administration and Human Resources, other areas of study within BCIT’s School of Business + Media also offer similar internship, practicum and consulting opportunities to enrolled students. These programs include Broadcast + Online Journalism, Global Trade and Transportation Management, Marketing Management and more.
For more information on the Business Operations Management program and other BCIT School of Business + Media programs, and to register for an online information session, visit www.bcit.ca/business-media/study
