Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Programme
The Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Programme is designed to develop the critical skills, practical management and leadership competencies of manufacturing sector supervisors working on the production front line.
This programme is developed in partnership with experts from the Centre for Competitiveness, CforC. As a Queen’s University not-for-profit body, CforC are committed to developing innovation, productivity and quality in NI organisations to support excellence, growth and boost competitiveness for a global market.
This unique programme synergises our exceptional Queen's Business School academic focus, Centre for Competiveness expertise and the William J. Clinton Leadership Institute mission to develop impactful future manufacturing leaders through our dynamic learning experience.
For manufacturers to maximise opportunities for sustainable business growth in the age of Industry 4.0, leadership must be enhanced throughout the organisation. The Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Programme builds leadership from the frontline upwards, feeding the future of the manufacturing industry through investment in its people asset base.
Key Takeaways and Benefits
This programme will help to develop your transition from frontline manager to business person, giving you the commercial understanding and technical skills to play a bigger role in your organisation. In the age of Industry 4.0, when the challenges and opportunities are too great for top-down direction alone, we will give you the know-how to help deliver digital transformation from the bottom up.
You shall gain the tools and techniques to coach people, to manage processes and to detect opportunities for continuous improvement. Discover a range of business skills to understand company strategy, the drivers of cost and value and how to have a bigger impact on customer and supplier relationships.
The Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Programme will be the first step in enhancing your current job quality. Increasing your potential to make a wider contribution to your company’s success, it offers talented, motivated individuals a pathway from supervisor to company management.
On the Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Programme you will;
- Boost your personal management capabilities with cutting edge leadership practices and insights
- Learn how to lead your team with confidence
- Implement practical tools and techniques for effective manufacturing operations
- Increase sustainability
- Enhance labour productivity
- Embrace digital transformation
- Address competitive pressures of Industry 4.0
- Apply frameworks to analyse industries, customers, and firms, using these tools to identify opportunities for value creation and innovation
Participant Profile
This programme is for manufacturing sector supervisors and those aspiring to rise to mid-level management.
As a manufacturing supervisor you will have excellent knowledge of processes or operations, understand the recurring issues and are best placed to suggest improvements. Your next step is to acquire the range of skills to lead in a manufacturing environment.
Inspired by German leadership-development practices, the Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Programme boosts the capabilities of one of the most valuable assets in any manufacturing operation, its supervisors and team leaders.
| MODULE 1: The Frontline Manager as a Leader | MONTH 1 2 DAYS |
| MODULE 2: The Frontline Manager and their Team | MONTH 1 1 DAY |
| MODULE 3: The Frontline Manager in the Digital Age | MONTH 2 3 DAYS |
| MODULE 4: The Frontline Manager’s Day - Planning | MONTH 2 1 DAY |
| MODULE 5: The Frontline Manager’s Day - Executing | MONTH 2 & 3 2 DAYS |
| MODULE 6: Finance and the Frontline Manager | MONTH 3 2 DAYS |
| MODULE 7: The Frontline Manager’s Toolkit | MONTHS 3 &4 3 DAYS |
| MODULE 8: The Frontline Manager as a Businessperson | MONTH 4 2 DAYS |
Class Format and Dates
This is an immersive four month programme delivered over 16 days on campus at The William J. Clinton Leadership Institute, Riddel Hall.
Our Clinton Leadership Institute Learning Management System will support your learning throughout with videos, podcasts and reading materials.
DATES |
TIME |
MODULE |
| 08/09/2025 | 09:00-16:30 | Module 1 - Day 1 The Frontline Manager as a Leader |
| 15/09/2025 | 09:00-16:30 | Module 1 - Day 2 The Frontline Manager as a Leader |
|
22/09/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 2 The Frontline Manager and their Team |
|
29/09/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 3 - Day 1 The Frontline Manager in the Digital Age |
|
06/10/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 3 - Day 2 The Frontline Manager in the Digital Age |
|
13/10/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 3 - Day 3 The Frontline Manager in the Digital Age |
|
20/10/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 4 The Frontline Managers Day: Planning |
|
21/10/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 5 - Day 1 The Frontline Managers Day: Executing |
|
27/10/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 5 - Day 2 The Frontline Managers Day: Executing |
|
04/11/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 6 - Day 1 Finance & The Frontline Manager |
|
05/11/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 6 - Day 2 Finance & The Frontline Manager |
|
10/11/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 7 - Day 1 The Frontline Managers Toolkit |
|
17/11/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 7 - Day 2 The Frontline Managers Toolkit |
|
24/11/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 8 - Day 1 The Frontline Manager as a Business Person |
|
01/12/2025 |
09:00-16:30 | Module 7 - Day 3 The Frontline Managers Toolkit |
|
08/12/2025 |
09:00-16:30 |
Module 8 - Day 2 |
What are past participants saying about this programme?
“I found the material to be beneficial as the world is evolving and this has a direct impact upon industry now and preparing for the future. I found the modules insightful and well-pitched for developing industry leaders.” Martin Moffett - Change Project Manager, Spirit Aerosystems
“The in-depth knowledge of the lecturers on the course helped me to better understand topics that I had some prior knowledge of, they engaged in open discussion and gave relevant examples and ideas of where the tools and techniques can be applied." Paul Davidson - Design Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting UK Ltd
Julie McCandless is a Professor of Practice in Business Management and Leadership and Director of Business Engagement at Queen’s Business School. Julie was a former Director in management consulting working in London, Hong Kong, and Dublin before joining Queen’s Business School five years ago. She focuses on the convergence of academic and applied knowledge to create an actionable impact on business and society. Her main focus area is strategic business transformation through customer-centric digital, people, and data-optimised delivery models. Julie lead the module on Innovation is an instructor in the Help to Grow program at the William J. Clinton Leadership Institute.
William Ussher is a Senior Executive at the Centre for Competitiveness, Belfast, with core responsibility for supporting the development of Lean and Innovative cultures in the manufacturing sector.
He is a highly experienced leader with 20 years’ experience gained in the Automotive sector where he held senior Operations leadership roles. For the past 8 years William has supported many Manufacturing companies in implementing business and process improvement projects. He has also been involved in assessing and preparing improvement roadmaps on innovation and supply chain strategies.
He has developed several training and coaching Programmes based on the ‘learning by doing’ approach, where teams plan and implement on-site improvement projects using Lean tools in a methodical and structured way.
William is highly engaging and is focused on developing the next generation of world class manufacturing organizations through development of their people asset.
We have a range of package options to support your Senior Executive experience with executive coaching and mentoring. Please contact us directly to discuss your requirements. Please email: Sue.Burns@qub.ac.uk
QUB Executive Coaching Brochure