Leadership in Manufacturing

The Leadership in Manufacturing certificate will help you apply the skills and tools necessary to deal with the unique challenges that exist in a manufacturing environment. Whether you are promoting from within or looking to hire from outside, these classes will help get your leaders ready to lead your workforce.

The certificate series is comprised of three two-course certificates for 18 credits total. Each certificate is six credits. Choose one certificate or complete the series. Courses are for credit and transfer into Western Technical College's Supervisory Management associate's degree program.

Recommended Prerequisites

Consider taking these brush-up courses to get you started. Please note, these courses are not grant-funded, so course costs will be the responsibility of the student.

MS Word for Windows

47103415 - Credits: 0.30 This class will help you learn to compose documents in Word, a word processing program and component of MS Office. Topics covered include: creating, saving, retrieving documents; moving and formatting text; creating numbered and bulleted lists; building newsletters; and adding graphics to documents.

Developmental Communications

77851160 - Credits: 3.00 If it has been a while since you have been in school and you think you may be a little "rusty" writing for college level courses, you may want to consider enrolling in Developmental Communications.

Team Leadership Certificate in Manufacturing: 6 credit certificate

In this two-part certificate series, you'll learn the personal leadership characteristics and skills that spark the kind of energy and enthusiasm that make productivity and performance soar. Get step-by-step guidelines and practical advice for transforming a group of individuals into a creative team. Other skills explored include:

1. Examining the leader's role in managing change
2. Identifying causes for resistance to change
3. Management strategies to overcome resistance, as well as proposing an effective action plan for change to meet the situation.

Leadership Development: Principles and Practice: An Overview

10196190 - 3 credits

Learn to apply skills and tools necessary to fulfill your role as a modern leader
Demonstrate the application for evaluating leadership effectiveness
Determine organization requirements, individual and group motivation strategies
Implement mission and goals, ethical behavior, personal leadership style and adaptation
Learn the impact of power, facilitating employee development
Coach, manage change, and provide effective conflict resolution

Team Building and Problem Solving: Building and Leading a High Performance Team

10196189 - 3 credits

Learn to apply the skills and tools to facilitate problem solving in a team environment
Demonstrate the application of the benefits and challenges of team work
Learn about the necessary roles in a team
Explore the stages of team development
Learn different approaches to problem solving, consensus building
Discover a systemic process of problem definition
Learn and practice data acquisition and analysis
Practice techniques for developing alternative solutions, solution implementation, and evaluation.
Conduct effective team meetings

Operations Leadership in Manufacturing: 6 credit certificate

Any manufacturer needs to have solid operations systems in place to be successful. Production systems vary widely from plant to plant. However, two things are common to all manufacturing operations systems: safety and quality. In this two-part certificate, you will discover how to protect your workers from unnecessary hazards and keep your company free from regulatory problems. You'll learn what you need to know about OSHA. You will also learn how to apply widely-used methods of continuous improvement, such as Six Sigma, LEAN, and Total Quality Management. You will also learn how to cultivate employee involvement and teamwork through measuring and systematizing processes, and reducing variation, defects, and cycle time by using techniques, including Plan Do Check Act (PDCA), and LEAN, using the six-sigma approach

Safety in the Workplace: Leadership is no Accident

10196136 - 3 credits

Learn about safety and loss prevention
Understand the supervisor's responsibility
Maintain a safe, productive environment.
Review safety concepts
Learn hazard controls and the role of communication
Develop safety and health programs
Review federal- and state-mandated regulations.

Managing for Quality: Leading Continuous Improvement

10196192 - 3 credits

Learn skills and tools
Implement and maintain continuous improvement
Develop personal philosophy of quality
Identify stakeholder relationships
Meet/exceed customer expectations
Determine systems-focused approach
Manage a quality improvement project
Measure effectiveness of continuous improvement activities

Human Factors Leadership in Manufacturing: 6 credit certificate

To succeed in your expanding role, you've got to get in tune with the times...and keep one step ahead of the changes. That means continually updating your people skills and seeking out all the freshest ideas, latest strategies, and cutting-edge techniques you can get your hands on. In this two-part certificate, you'll get the most up-to-the-minute information about LEAN and Six Sigma, and new and exciting techniques available on how to manage change, motivate, discipline, delegate, inspire, problem solve...all the critical skills, such as SMED and VSM team skills needed to succeed when leading people in manufacturing.

Supervision: Leading on the First Line

10196191 - 3 credits

Apply skills and tools of a frontline leader
Apply the strategies and transitions to a contemporary supervisory role
Schedule day-to-day operations
Analyze, delegate, control, staff
Learn leadership skills
Develop team skills, problem-solving techniques
Motivate and train

Personal Skills for Supervisors - Preparing to Lead

10196164 - 3 credits

Learn time management techniques and strategies to balance work, school and home life
Identify and manage sources of stress
Create a professional development plan to keep up to date on management techniques
Learn to communicate assertively and motivate employees

This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded under the President's Community-Based Job Training Grants as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The solution was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This solution is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

Questions?

For course information, contact Jeff Kroes at 608.789.6252 or kroesj@westerntc.edu. For registration information, contact Rose Huebsch at 608.785.9291 or huebschr@westerntc.edu.