Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship· Beginner level

Most people who study business do not start companies. They keep the accounts, sell things, buy things, hire people, move stock, chase payments and explain numbers to people who do not like numbers.

Real job titles include accounts assistant, auditor, bank officer, sales representative, procurement officer, marketing coordinator, human resources assistant, logistics or operations coordinator, insurance officer, and financial analyst.

In Ghana, the employers are banks, telecoms, insurance companies, audit and accounting firms, government agencies such as the revenue authority, NGOs, and a very large number of small and medium businesses and traders.

In Canada, they are banks and credit unions, retailers, manufacturers, accounting firms, public sector organisations, and small businesses.

Running your own business is a real option in both places, but it is a different job from any of the above. It means doing all of them badly for a while.

In Ghana, the SHS Business programme usually covers Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Business Management and Economics, with Elective Mathematics as a strong addition. The core subjects still apply: English Language, Core Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social Studies. Credits in English Language and Core Mathematics are usually essential for tertiary entry, and accounting and finance routes lean hard on the mathematics.

General Arts with Economics also leads into business and economics degrees. Check the specific programme rather than assuming.

In Canada, most business programmes require English at the Grade 12 university-preparation level and at least one Grade 12 mathematics course. Which mathematics course differs between universities and between programmes, and some competitive programmes require more than one. Read the requirement on the programme page.

If mathematics is your weak subject, that is the thing to fix now rather than to work around.

You learn more about business from two weeks of real records than from a term of theory.

Pick one. Buy and resell something small and legal, recording every amount that goes out and comes in, including transport and anything you gave away. Offer a small service, such as printing, repairs, hair, tutoring or deliveries, and record time as well as money. Compare the price of the same product in three shops or markets over two weeks. Or keep the accounts for a school club or a family activity for a month.

Then answer three questions honestly. Did you make a profit after counting your own time? Which cost surprised you? What would you do differently?

Agree the plan with a guardian first, especially if it involves handling money or meeting customers.

Good questions here are about judgement, not about how to get rich. Ask what a normal week looks like. Ask what part of the job people underestimate. Ask how they decide whether a customer is worth the trouble. Ask what they would do differently at your age.

This field attracts scams aimed at young people. Nobody legitimate needs your mobile money PIN, your bank password, a one-time code, your identity documents, or a payment to unlock an opportunity. No mentor should ask you to receive or forward money, invest, or recruit friends. If any of that happens, stop and report it.

If you are 12 to 18, go through the plan with your guardian first.

Pick four things you can finish this month, and make at least two of them involve real figures.

A realistic month: finish and write up your money exercise, fix one weak numbers topic, read the entry requirements of two programmes in full, and speak to one person who does the job you are curious about.

Put dates on all four and tell someone what they are.