Business College Helsinki

Specialist Qualification in Management – Taking an international perspective on management and leadership

Helsinki Business College Adult Education started Specialist Qualification in Management (SQM) in English in May 2016. There are 15 participants with very different backgrounds and they are leaders from both large listed companies and smaller companies. Adult Education has had the same training in Finnish for several years.

The main instructor of the training is Christel Berghäll-Högström. She has extensive experience in training leaders in Finland and abroad (especially in change management and leadership).

Christel Berghäll-Högström

– This training is very little about lecturing, it is an highly engaging learning approach with reflection, small group work, experiental learning, best practice sharing and drawing on experience from the participants real-life challenges, says Berghäll-Högström.

Christel Berghäll-Högström says she and the participants bring an international perspective to the SQM training. Berghäll-Högström trains and coaches leaders internationally on a continuous basis and some of the participants work in highly international environments. – People’s expectations from leaders are surprisingly similar in different countries. The strength of Finnish leaders is that they tend to be straightforward. What many of them, however, need to learn is how to be more diplomatic and how to adopt a coaching approach in certain situations.

The main themes of SQM are general management skills, leading self, leading people, financial management, project management and change leadership – The idea is to give participants an overview and build fundamental skills for all these important areas of management and leadership, says Berghäll-Högström.

Berghäll-Högström thinks Specialist Qualification in Management is like a driver’s license for supervisors and managers who want to develop their general management skills.

“I wanted to push myself.”

Jenni Homer

Jenni Homer is one of the participants of SQM training. She works for a global fashion brand as a Wholesale Manager. She is responsible for the Franchise and Multilable part of the business in Finland and the Baltics. Homer wanted to have training that leads to qualification instead of some seminar days: – I wanted something that would really push me to think and grow as a leader. I wanted to push myself, especially with leadership skills and human resource management, and I wanted a platform and tools that would help me do that.

Homer heard positive things about Helsinki Business College Adult Education and SQM: – I especially liked the aspect of it being tied to my work on a practical level as well as the opportunity to learn from others and share experiences. One thing that you quickly notice in the course is that other people are struggling with the very same things.

Studying in English was very natural for Homer: – English is the official language at the company I work for. I attended a university in the UK and, before that, an International Baccalaureate here in Finland. I also put value on any degrees or courses that can have some recognition internationally.

Development project for own organization

The SQM has training days about once a month. The training includes homework and studying in small study groups. The participants also develop their organizations by planning and managing development projects in their areas of responsibility.

– This SQM has really pushed me to demand more of myself in my work, to really strive to plan better, and to always continue thinking about what I can do in a better way, Homer sums up.

The group of Specialist Qualification in Management will graduate in December 2017. – I hope to have been given the tools and guidance in order to reach the next level of professionalism in terms of leadership and gained a further insight into my strengths and how to maximize my potential. I also hope to have gained some new contacts and broadened my horizons, says Jenni Homer.

    Business College Helsinki

    Päätoimittaja - viestinta@bc.fi