Self-test management course, training (cert.): Is this course the right one for me?

What do managers do and what kind of continuing education, further training is there?

There are professionals with leadership and management tasks in every company. They take on administrative, organizational and strategic tasks. In smaller companies, they often take over the entire management of the company, while in larger companies they head a department, a working group or a team.

Typical management tasks are

• Defining goals and strategies
• Leading teams and developing employees
• Organize processes and resources
• Making decisions and solving problems
• Coordinating projects and collaboration
• Check results and implement improvements
• Ensure communication with employees and stakeholders

Management continuing education, further training

There is a wide range of management training formats on offer. Some providers offer shorter courses or seminars that provide a general introduction or cover individual topics and conclude with a diploma or certificate from the school. There are also numerous offers at postgraduate level, from shorter courses to CAS continuing education, further training at universities of applied sciences.

Many providers of introductory management training have adapted their courses to the modular concept of the Swiss Association for Management Training (SVF). This concept comprises the two certificate areas "Leadership" and "Management":

• Leadership SVFdeals with aspects of leadership - from self-knowledge and self-management to leadership and communication styles, presentation and conflict resolution.
• Management SVFdeals with business management, legal issues, personnel aspects, etc.

The two SVF Leadership and Management certificates provide access to the Federal Professional Examination as a "Management Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education".

This self-test focuses on the courses leading to the SVF "Management" certificate.

Who are management courses (cert.) aimed at? What personal qualities are an advantage?

The "Management (Cert.)" courses are aimed at:

• People who want to prepare specifically for their first management role
• People with leadership responsibilities who lead a group or team and want to reflect on and strengthen their leadership skills
• Professionals who want to supplement their knowledge with business management know-how
• Self-employed people who want to acquire additional management know-how

Important qualities for a management position are

• Communication skills: Communicate clearly, listen well and pass on information clearly.
• Decision-making ability: Analyzing problems and making sound decisions even under pressure.
• Empathy: understanding employees, building trust and resolving conflicts constructively.
• Sense of responsibility: Taking responsibility for results and the team.
• Organizational skills: planning tasks, setting priorities and maintaining an overview of processes.

In short, you should be able to communicate clearly and make decisions. You should be willing and able to understand people, take responsibility and work in a structured way.

Requirements for admission to continuing education, further training in management (cert.)

Most schools do not have any specific requirements for admission to a certificate course in management. It is helpful in any case:

• Completed basic education
• Professional experience (management experience is helpful, but is not usually required at certificate level)
• good knowledge of German
• Basic knowledge of information and communication technology (ICT)

Admission to continuing education courses at universities and universities of applied sciences generally requires a university degree or a higher vocational education qualification and professional experience. It is often also possible to be admitted by submitting personal documents (so-called "sur dossier")

Learning content

Typical learning contents of continuing education, further training are:

• Business management basics (cost accounting and controlling, financial management, budgeting, corporate strategy, marketing, etc.)
• Management and leadership (management models, employee motivation, team leadership and team dynamics, feedback and appraisal interviews, etc.)
• Communication (negotiation techniques, conflict management, stakeholder management, etc.)
• Strategy and corporate development (strategic analyses, innovation and change management, organizational development, etc.)
• Project management, process management
• Personnel management (labor law, recruiting and talent management, etc.)
• Digitalization and modern organization (AI and automation, remote leadership, etc.)

The continuing education, further training for the SVF certificate "Management" comprises three modules:

• General management: understanding, analyzing and interpreting business contexts and figures from financial and operational accounting and deriving measures and options for action from them
• Human resources management: design contemporary concepts and instruments of human resources management, taking into account legal and operational requirements, and apply them in day-to-day management work in a team or group.
• Change management: using the tools and methods of change management to define and implement change measures and change projects at group or team level

Graduates of continuing education, further training courses based on the SVF concept are able to lead a team in a business-oriented, professional manner and in line with the company's goals.

Costs of continuing education, further training (cert.)

TheCosts for management continuing education, further trainingare sodifferentas the educational programs themselves and depending on the duration, intensity, group size, educational institution, etc. We therefore refrain from giving details here. The cost of a single lesson for group courses is in the region of CHF 28-40.

ThePreparatory courses for the SVF "Management" certificatefor many providers are in the range ofCHF 5300-6500* (incl. teaching materials, registration fees, etc.). The costs for the module examinations for the SVF "Management" certificate are as followsCHF 800(as of 2026). For some providers, these costs are included in the course fee.

* If you later take the Federal Diploma of Higher Education as a "Management Specialist", you will receive up to 50% of the costs paid for this preparatory course (max. CHF 9500) back from the federal government on application.

Course duration, number of teaching units and learning effort

Continuing education, further training in management - including those that specifically prepare students for the examinations for the SVF "Management" certificate - are usuallypart-timeand usually lastone semesterless often two semesters. Many courses lead to the school's own certificates.

TheCourse timesare geared towards working people. Lessons often take place in the evening, on individual weekdays or on Saturdays. Blended learning formats are also used in some cases, where face-to-face teaching is combined with online sequences.

TheScopeis usually around 70 to 90 lessons. In addition to this, you should expect to spend around 70 to 80 hours on self-study. This usually results in a total learning effort of around 150 to 170 hours, spread over several months.

Conclusion

The schools define the services required for the acquisition of theirschool certificatesor diplomas must be obtained. Some issue certificates of attendance, others require reports or set examination tasks.

Some of the school's own examinations are recognized by the SVF, so that the SVF certificate is awarded at the same time as the school certificate.

For schools without SVF recognition, theSVF Certificate Managementadditionally theSVF exams for each of the three modulesmust be completed and passed. These are

• Module Change Management: written exam (90 min.)
• Module General Management: written exam (120 min.)
• Module Personal Management: written exam (90 min.)