Scottish Engineering First Line Management: FLM

Develop the Leaders Who Drive Your Business Forward

Our First-Line Management Training is designed to equip new or aspiring managers—often referred to as supervisors, team leaders or front-line managers—with the essential skills, knowledge and confidence to lead effectively. These managers play a critical role in overseeing day-to-day operations and ensuring the performance of employees who deliver your products and services.

Why First-Line Management Training Matters:

First-line managers are the link between strategy and execution. When they are well-trained, the benefits are clear:

  • Employee Retention: Skilled managers support and develop their teams, leading to higher job satisfaction and reduced turnover.
  • Productivity: Effective leadership ensures tasks are completed efficiently and teams remain engaged.
  • Consistency: Training promotes consistent management practices across the organisation, creating a cohesive culture and uniform results.

What’s Included:

This programme is structured around six core areas that every line manager encounters in their role. Each session combines practical guidance with peer learning, encouraging participants to share experiences and gain new perspectives. Topics include:

  • The Role of the Line Manager
  • Absence Management
  • Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures
  • Performance Management
  • Courageous Conversations and Communication
  • Building Cohesive Teams

Delivery Options:

  • Workshops and Seminars: Our two-day interactive course offers hands-on learning, real-world scenarios and the opportunity to engage with peers and expert trainers.
  • Online Training: For those unable to attend in person, we offer flexible online sessions designed to be engaging, practical and easy to fit around work commitments.

 

First-line managers are the foundation of organisational success. By investing in their development, you ensure that your strategies are translated into operational excellence and that your workforce remains motivated, productive and aligned with your business goals.

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  • Session 1

    Is a broad introduction to the role of the First Line Manager; there are subtle differences in roles depending on where you work, but we will focus on the broad context of management; the skills and qualities you will need, the relationship between your team and you and hopefully discover the pathway to success in your career. We will also cover the learning plan in this session, where we will review your own development needs and identify areas that you want to focus on improving. 

  • Session 2

    Is Performance Management – in our view one of the biggest challenges that face any manager. We will focus on how to identify and deal with poor performance, how to develop potential, how to involve your team in improving performance, and how to deal with those who may not be capable of performing at the level you need.  

  • Session 3

    Is focussed on Absence Management. Sickness absence and the consequences of it create huge operational challenges in all organisations and supporting and understanding the health of our workforce is key to both our team's wellbeing and our operational effectiveness. In this session, we will cover how and when to intervene, what the role of a manager in employee wellbeing is, how to support people with disabilities, and what management action we can and should take when absence becomes an issue.  

  • Session 4

    Covers two broad topics – Discipline and Grievance. In these sessions we will cover both processes; dealing with both correctly is hugely important and when not done so, leave the company open to risk. We cover the principles of investigation, creating a report, disciplinary and grievance hearings as well as the legal context surrounding both.  

  • Session 5

    Focusses on some of the softer management skills – Communication and Difficult conversations. Poor communication is always one of the biggest concerns of employees in surveys, and finding a communication style that works for you, and works for your team is

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Lindsey Miller

Legal & HR Support Manager

Lindsey is responsible for the Legal and HR team at Scottish Engineering and has been with us since September 1992. She’s also a practicing solicitor and an Associate Member of CIPD. She provides advice and guidance to member companies on employment law, aimed at keeping them away from Employment Tribunals, but also prepares cases and acts as a representative at Employment Tribunal Hearings. As part of the Legal & HR Team, she designs and presents various types of in-person and online training from legal updates to more practical skills for managers. Lindsey enjoys attending yoga and circuits classes, occasionally runs a 10K, and often hosts family events.

Amie Trainor

Solicitor & Legal Adviser

Amie started as a trainee solicitor with Scottish Engineering in January 2022 and is now a fully qualified Solicitor & Legal Adviser within our Legal & HR team. She provides advice to members on a range of employment law matters and supports them by reviewing policies and employment contracts. Amie also delivers training for members, including vital employment processes; equality, diversity and inclusion training and the ‘Employment Law Essentials’ course. She enjoys visiting member sites to see their operations first-hand and learn more about the work they do. Outside of work, Amie can be found either cooking something delicious or reading her kindle.

Debbie Wilson

Employee Relations Adviser

Debbie works within our HR and Legal team, providing comprehensive Employment Law advice and support to member companies since June 2024. Her role covers a wide range of responsibilities, from handling straightforward inquiries to complex cases. Debbie also designs and delivers training programs, conducts liaison visits, attends networking events, and produces regular updates on Employment Law changes to keep our members informed. With 16 years of experience spanning roles in a Trade Union and a large HR company, Debbie offers a well-rounded perspective to help members address employee matters effectively. Debbie enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering with the scouts.

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The course is delivered both online and offline – classroom based training gives a much more rounded experience for delegates, but online works for some people too. Our classroom based training is generally delivered in our office in Glasgow over two days and normally runs three or four times a year dependent on demand. Our offline course is modular, with a number of two hour sessions held over Teams and is generally demand led.  We also run the courses in house for companies who have a large number of managers to put through the programme.  All sessions have a range of exercises for delegates to map their learning into real like examples, are very interactive and all of the trainers have significant experience in the areas they cover. 

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Unfortunately, we currently have no events of this type scheduled. If you are interested in this type of service please email [email protected] to discuss your requirements.

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