Racheal Anger was used to spotting trends in her career as a retail buyer, but it was her observance of a different type of trend that started her down a new career path.

While working for a retail TV channel, she was exposed to the business of television and online retail, spurring her fascination with the growing world of e-commerce.
“The technological advances and out-of-the-box thinking in e-commerce piqued my interest. I felt that’s where the future would be,” Anger says. “I began looking at what skills I needed to transition into the industry.”

She realized that her understanding of digital analytics — a combination of web analytics, marketing campaign measurements, social media metrics, and data visualization — would support her in her new career. With this understanding, she would be able to better predict customer behaviour online and provide solutions for complex e-commerce problems. After comparing various programs, she chose to enroll at George Brown College’s School of Continuing Education.

Learning real-world skills

George Brown’s digital analytics program turned out to be a perfect fit. Not only because the school was an early adopter in teaching digital analytics in the GTA, but also because of the delivery options the program offered. Anger was able to complete her certificate part-time in a year while still working full time. “The certificate offered courses online and on-campus which gave me the flexibility I needed,” she says.

The variety of courses offered was also attractive. There were lectures, assignments, and projects that covered a wide range of real-world situations, including learning how to use Facebook and Google analytics with real-time data. Anger is now an Assistant E-commerce Manager at a major consumer brand. “In my current position, I analyze sales and forecasting data in order to build and prioritize brand messaging to influence shoppers, making it easier for them to discover products.”

Anger credits George Brown College with helping her realize her dream career in the fast-paced world of e-commerce. “This program gave me the experience and knowledge I needed to transition between industries,” she says.