Level 3 – Qualifications in Leadership and Management

Level 3 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Leadership and Management are qualifications that have been specially designed to give practising or aspiring first line managers a solid foundation in their formal development as a manager.

The Award is a concise qualification which gives an introduction to the basic skills, knowledge and understanding required by today’s first line manager. The mandatory unit ‘Solving Problems and Making Decisions’ is designed to develop practical techniques for tackling managerial problems and making decisions from gathering and interpreting information through to the effective communication of outcomes.

The Certificate provides a more comprehensive programme that builds and broadens the skills and knowledge gained in the Award (please note candidates may join the Certificate directly and are not required to undertake the Award as a prerequisite). Here organisational change is explored, giving participants a deeper understanding of this critical workplace issue and providing them with the tools to plan for and deal with organisational upheaval. The crucial skill of time management is also explored in the fourth mandatory unit for the Certificate.

The Diploma develops a very comprehensive range of management skills, providing learners with the broad body of knowledge required by a first line manager. The qualification builds on the Award and Certificate, though is more suited to the practising manager. (Please note candidates are not required to undertake either the Award or Certificate as prerequisites and may join Diploma programmes directly). The additional mandatory units cover business communication – writing for business and making presentations – creativity and innovation for the workplace as well as information gathering and analysis, and managing customer service.

Flexibility – all candidates are able to choose from a diverse range of optional units to build their qualification – the Award, Certificate or Diploma (see the tables below and overleaf). This high level of flexibility allows individuals or their employers to custom build a qualification focusing on the key areas of first line management that are most relevant to the demands of a specific role, industry or organisation. From managing health and safety to planning change in the workplace, the ilm First Line Management qualifications can be fully tailored to meet the varying needs of learners across all employment sectors.