Supervisory Training Program (STP)

According to studies, more than half of new supervisors and managers receive little or no training before taking on their new responsibilities. This often results in sub-par, and occasionally, detrimental performance by new supervisors. The Supervisory Training Program (STP) at IDMANN Institute is a hands-on, collaborative learning program that helps current and aspiring entry-level supervisors acquire the tools and capabilities they need to succeed.

The program is broad-based and includes students from various industries including retail, construction, health & medical, finance, agriculture, manufacturing, food processing, and small-scale industries, amongst others. The program teaches participants the critical skills needed to succeed as a supervisor; it presents communication and motivational tools that can be used to create productive and enthusiastic teams.

Students learn to identify the organization's mission, objectives, processes, regulations, and management of human resources in order to contribute to the organization's success. The program also provides solid grounding in the legal, regulatory and cultural elements needed to be an effective supervisor. Students also learn how to communicate effectively, be motivated, and motivate their teams, all with the aim of achieving operational benchmarks and organizational goals.

This program is designed to be interactive and cooperative. Like all classes at IDMANN Institute, STP is led by highly trained instructors in live sessions. In addition to the extensive course content, students are expected to participate and interact with a live-instructor (and other students) in real-time to learn. Students learn in small groups led by experienced industry experts in the various modules. They also form cohorts within which they interact, share. and reinforce the practical aspects of their evolution into outstanding supervisors. Like in real life, projects are team-based, and students are expected to demonstrate their learning and evolution practically within the learning environment. This forms a safe environment for them to get feedback from their instructors and colleagues as they carry those skills into their respective workplaces. The goal is for students to form a lifelong cohort of colleagues (especially across different organizations and sectors) with whom they can continue to grow and share experiences (and best practices) even after the formal training session is completed.  

Given that the program is targeted to working adults, class sessions are scheduled for evenings and weekends. This intense online program has been designed to support entry-level supervisors as they develop essential and critical skills needed to successfully lead others in the workplace.  Participants will understand how to develop self-confidence, learn how to inspire that same confidence in their colleagues, acquire the technical and managerial tools for effective supervision, and inculcate the skills needed to build - and sustain - effective teams in pursuit of organizational goals.

The Supervisory Training Program has been designed specifically for current and aspiring entry level supervisors, team leaders, first-line managers, and those who have or will soon have supervisory duties in any organization, especially those with productive or process-oriented operations such as manufacturing firms, IT companies, construction companies, medical facilities, small-scale industries, and the like. It is also a good fit for anybody thinking about taking on or applying for a new job that includes supervisory responsibility. Experienced supervisors would also benefit by acquiring new skills and techniques needed to enhance their capabilities

The program is organized around thematic modules. Each module provides a basis for the subsequent one as students progress to more advanced topics. The main modules are outlined as follows:

Module 1 - Leadership Style

Each individual is unique. The first step in the journey to improved leadership is to become aware of one’s own tendencies and habits. This module starts by exploring each person’s approach to problem-solving and leadership with the goal of making each participant aware of their own tendencies and how others are different. The goal is to raise awareness around the different approaches and tendencies in people so that the effective leader can identify and harness those differences. That process starts with self-awareness. This module aids in the development of the abilities required to be a successful and inspirational leader.

 Students will learn practical skills and strategies to assist them deal with the difficulties of leadership in today's workplace. Participants will also learn how to utilize various leadership styles based on the scenario, as well as how to inspire others and foster a feeling of shared ownership and empowerment among employees. Participants will also explore the relevance of leadership and team visioning, team & project charter development, planning procedures, connection development, and organizational accountability.

An important topic that will be covered here will be change integration. In many organizations, line supervisors have the responsibility of actualizing business decisions and policy changes “coming from the top”. These dynamic environments often create [unanticipated] stresses and strains on the organization, especially for first-line supervisors. This opening module will provide practical and technical tools for change integration with a focus on the impact on different styles in a given team or organization. The goal is for the first-line supervisor to become a leading change-agent instead of an unwitting victim of organizational change

Module 2 - Safety in The Workplace

"Safety is no accident." Every company's productivity depends on having a work environment that inspires and encourages workers to not only recognize dangerous conduct when it occurs, but also to perceive possibilities to enhance working conditions. An important part of this is building a culture in which everyone holds everyone else accountable for workplace safety. Safety is everyone’s business. Literally! This program will provide new supervisors with the information, leadership skills, and methodologies they need to incorporate safety into their daily tasks and become successful safety advocates and leaders. Some of the topics to be treated in this module include:
i.    Safety Culture, Planning & Procedures
ii.    Equipment and Material Safety
iii.    Online Safety and Cybersecurity
iv.    Environmental Safety
v.    Electrical and Fire Safety
vi.    Workplace Medical Records Management
vii.    Hazard Communication
viii.    The Cost of Safety
ix.    Safety Leadership & Accountability
At the end of this module, students will be poised to assume leadership roles in their respective workplaces as it relates to safety.

Module 3 - Production Planning & Forecasting

Here students learn the key elements for production planning. These tools apply irrespective of the industry under consideration. By combining the essential techniques in functional decomposition and process mapping, students are able to plan and operationalize their given mandate. These techniques apply to all aspects of operations, from human capital assignment through to product (or service) delivery. This module examines the basic concepts of what to produce, when to produce, how much is to be produced to get to the deliverable. Participants learn the administrative and planning processes needed to cover all aspect of operations from workforce activities to production planning, scheduling, to control and final product delivery, while ensuring effective resource utilization.

Module 4 - Quality Management & Productivity Improvement

This module is based on the Six Sigma methodology. Participants start by learning how to differentiate between “an opinion” and “a fact”.  The aim is to provide a framework for fact-based, data-driven decision-making. Student learn the tools to objectively define – and measure – quality. The module then proceeds to introduce students to the five major phases of the Six Sigma methodology – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC).  In this module students learn the importance of data collection and objective data analysis for quality and productivity improvement practices. This module teaches participants a coherent and effective approach to creating a culture of quality awareness, and how to cascade – and propagate - that awareness through the team and across the organization. Ultimately, the goal is excellence across the operational, technical and commercial elements of an organization.  This module will provide participants with the tools to achieve those goals.

Module 5 - Behavioral Typology & Psychometric Awareness

There is no shortage of speculation about the personal traits that enable people to achieve success in life. In truth, virtually every kind of personality type is successful. However, certain personality types are more effective certain types of positions and tasks. In this module, participants will undergo a personal exercise to identify their own personality type, and the typology of their colleagues. The findings of this exercise will form the basis for the exploration of personality types and how they impact perceptions and behaviors. This is important for an aspiring leader as they begin to understand their own behaviors, and those of others. Many untrained leaders often seek to find (or forcefully create) clones of themselves in their team members and subordinates. That often does not end well. The goal is to understand why certain respond to events in certain ways, and how to best engage them so they are successful given their personality type. In addition to the personality typology, this module will also identify the different cognitive types and their impact on problem-solving approaches. This awareness is especially critical for fostering innovation and creativity in teams. Participants will be expected to help other team members in their evaluations and thereby develop the skills to apply these techniques in their respective workplaces.  

Module 6 - Diversity & Workplace Culture

When people use the term “diversity”, they often mean “ethnic” or “racial” diversity. That is unfortunate, as it often leads organizations to assume a “cut-and-paste” approach to building strong work teams. Diversity applies to gender (think of women in construction jobs), health (think of how many jobs actually provide for physically-challenged employees), family structure (think of the need to work from home to take care of a family member), filial (think of the need for new fathers to take paternity leave so as to support their growing families?) and so on and so on.

A diverse organization views – and utilizes - its diversity as a strength by drawing on talent and skills that may otherwise not be available to contribute to the organization’s growth. In this module, participants explore and evaluate their workplace culture, and how it fosters (or hinders) the diversity needed to be successful. It also explores the cost of ensuring a diverse workforce. While diversity is beneficial in many respects, it may also pose problems for the workplace. Employee tensions, minority group discomfort, and strained supervisor-employee relationships may all be caused by social, cultural, and linguistic differences. Dominant societal norms and expectations may also create resistance to such change. In this module, students learn how to successfully guide and navigate the communication around diversity. More importantly, they learn how to manage and lead diverse teams. Students’ awareness will be raised to value interaction and collaboration with people of different cultures, race, gender, ethnicity, beliefs, life circumstances, and ideas – as a tool for enhancing organizational performance.

Module 7 – Communication & Leadership

Most workplace failures can be attributed to ineffective or inaccurate communication. Indeed, most relationships break down because of a failure to communicate effectively. This is a critical tool for effective leadership.  The aim of this module is to help supervisors develop exemplary written and verbal communication skills to help them convey with impact, sincerity, clarity, and brevity. They will be taught to enhance their communication and influencing skills to lead their team effectively. This module will draw very heavily from team exercises as participants will be required to confront the [often negative and unintended] impact of their choice of language on others. The goal will be for participants to become more effective leaders by becoming more effective communicators.

Module 8 - Ethics & Integrity in Leadership

For better or worse, ethics form the bedrock of any organization, indeed any society. That is “who the organization is”. Integrity (or the lack thereof) is what powers (or undermines) those ethics. This impacts EVERY aspect of an organization, community or nation state. In this module, participants are invited to explore their own ethics, and the impact on their relationships. They are then provided the philosophical and moral bases for evaluating their ethics and that of others. The goal is for participants to become aware of their own ethical bases and the impact it has on current and future relationships. They are then provided with the tools and techniques to resolve the [inevitable] ethical dilemmas that will arise in any workplace.  Students will be taught how to rise to the challenge of encouraging ethical behavior and maintaining compliance on a regular basis. They will learn how to build, influence, and sustain a culture of ethics and compliance using the L.E.A.D. model.

Module 9 – Conflict Resolution In The Workplace

As the saying goes, “Do you want be right or do you want to be happy?” This is a central tenet in managing relationships of all types. The ability to empathize by seeing the other person’s perspective is critical especially when one does not agree with it. That is the key to understanding and eventually resolution. This module (which builds heavily off of the work done in the “Communications & Leadership” module) will teach students the skills to actively manage, prevent and resolve workplace conflicts. Many participants will find these tools to be useful not just in the workplace, but in their private lives as well.

Module 10 - Digital Culture, Electronic Communications & Remote Work

Every organization is being impacted by the rapid transformation in communications and digital technologies. This training session is an example. Organizations have to deal with new opportunities – and threats. Vast amounts of data can be stored and analyzed to enhance operations. New collaborations tools enable people work remotely and more cooperatively than ever before. Organizations can access resources and human capital from locations that hitherto would have simply been inaccessible and/or unaffordable. But with these come new risks – data hacking, digital theft, digital “hostage taking” – and costs – cybersecurity, digital surveillance, etc. To compete today, employees and employers alike must learn to be proficient with the digital tools essential for success as a remote worker. This module will expose students to the most up-to-date apps for interacting and working with colleague remotely from all around the world. It will also explore the risks associated with this evolving digital universe.

Module 11 - Legal Liability & The First-Line Supervisor

Failures at the first-line can be very expensive. Poor quality can lead to very costly reputational damage to an organization. Lax safety practices can lead to injury, even loss of life. Shoddy operational practices can ruin lives in the surrounding community. This module provides an overview of the supervisory responsibilities regarding occupational health, safety, and the environment. It also provides considerable into the legal jeopardy that can result from supervisory failures. The objective of the module is to equip supervisory staff with knowledge of the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks that apply to the workplace to ensure safe, profitable, and sustainable operation.

Module 12 - Compliance & Regulatory Affairs

There is some regulatory oversight of virtually every industry. Failing to understand those regulations, or an unwillingness to comply can be very costly. In this module, participants will gain an appreciation for how regulatory processes work in general, and how to read and interpret regulatory guidance. This module covers a wide range of subjects, including regulatory requirements, submissions, strategy, as well as pre-market and post-market compliance. Students will be taught the foundations of regulatory affairs, get exposure to industry practices, and find practical applications to help them build the interpretative and analytical abilities that regulatory affairs professionals require of industry actors.

Module 13 - Time Management & Task Prioritization

‘There are not enough hours in the day’. That is a popular saying. That adage speaks to the failure of time management that is so pervasive in society. Time management requires setting – and sticking to – priorities. There are techniques – drawn directly from project management – that enable supervisors to visualize, identify and prioritize the tasks that are most important, even critical, at a given point in time.  This module will teach students the skills and techniques of prioritizing and delegating accordingly to ensure tasks are completed in a timely and efficient manner. On completion of this module, students would have acquired excellent time-management skills to ensure productive output from their teams.

Module 14 – Performance Management and Evaluation 

The aim of this module (which builds heavily off of the work done in the “Quality Management & Productivity Improvement” module) is to teach the students how to define, measure, analyze, improve and reward employees' contribution to the work effort. Participants will receive hands-on, practical tools and training in how to hold the often-dreaded “Discussion of Contribution & Development”. Participants will learn – and practice - how to document performance for the advancement of the individual and the betterment of the organization. 

The course curriculum is summarized below:

Module 1 - Leadership Style

Module 2 - Safety in The Workplace

Module 3 - Production Planning & Forecasting

Module 4 - Quality Management & Productivity Improvement

Module 5 - Behavioral Typology & Psychometric Awareness

Module 6 - Diversity & Workplace Culture

Module 7 – Communication & Leadership

Module 8 - Ethics & Integrity in Leadership

Module 9 – Conflict Resolution In The Workplace

Module 10 - Digital Culture, Electronic Communications & Remote Work

Module 11 - Legal Liability & The First-Line Supervisor

Module 12 - Compliance & Regulatory Affairs

Module 13 - Time Management & Task Prioritization

Module 14 – Performance Management and Evaluation

Classes are designed to be convenient for working as well as supported students. Classes are usually scheduled for evenings and weekends given that the focus in on working adults.

Students are assigned to cohorts based on a balance between availability in a given cohort and indicated preference of students during the application process.

The exact schedule of classes and the electronic credentials needed for online access are provided to students in their Admissions Package.

• STP courses each run for 6 months (24 weeks).
• STP cohorts typically start the first (working) Monday of every month.
• Registration for new STP cohorts closes 1 month in advance of the start date. (For instance, students who want to participate in a  program starting in January need to be registered by the end of November.) This is to ensure proper planning and management of cohort sizes.
• STP classes typically meet online twice a week; registered students have access to study and test material on the online platform every day of the week.
• Special classes for organizations, groups or associations may be arranged outside of this standing schedule. (For group schedules, send email to )

IDMANN Institute is committed to providing affordable, quality education for as many students as possible. The institution provides a standing bursary for students in most of our programs based on available financial resources. The goal of the bursary is to assist students in a particular demographic or grouping that may legitimately benefit from the program but may face financial challenges in covering the full cost of tuition.

IDMANN Challenge Bursary:

This program is supported by the IDMANN Challenge Bursary. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary is financial aid provided by IDMANN Institute and partner organizations that fund the Enterprise Development Fund. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary supports students according to the following criteria:

1. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary only covers tuition, not the application fee. Awards are made AFTER students have applied and have been successfully admitted into the program.
2. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary will only support the first ten (10) students to apply in the qualifying cohort. This means that students who apply early are more likely to be successfully considered for the bursary award. The Challenge Bursary is made on a "first-come first-awarded" basis. Students in eligible countries are STRONGLY encouraged to apply early and to indicate their intent to apply for the bursary award. (No special form is required, simply indicate in the application form.)  
3. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary covers 50% of the tuition for students. It does NOT cover the application fee. 
4. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary operates on a contributory basis. This means that students must pay their share of the tuition IN A TIMELY MANNER for the bursary to be applied. In the event that students fail to make their payments in a timely manner, the bursary award will automatically lapse and students will be responsible for the full tuition.
5. Bursary awards are for a specific cohort in a specific course and cannot be transferred to another course. However, in the event that the award recipient needs to transfer to a different cohort within the same course, upon approval of their instructor, the bursary award may be transferred to the new cohort at the same level of support as in the previous cohort.
6. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary is available subject to continued availability of funds to support the bursary. The Institute and supporting partners may terminate the program without prior notice. In any circumstance, students awarded a bursary will receive the committed support through the completion of their studies at IDMANN Institute.
7. The IDMANN Challenge Bursary is available only to students applying to the program and are RESIDENT in the following countries at the time of application: Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Jamaica, Kenya, Tanzania, Guyana, Suriname, Haiti and Indonesia.

 National Service Bursary (Nigeria, Ghana and US):

1. Graduates from post-secondary tertiary institutions in Ghana are required to participate in the National Service Scheme. Similarly, graduates from post-secondary tertiary institutions in Nigeria are required to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). In the US, young graduates may elect to join the Peace Corps for international experience or join the domestic AmeriCorps program.
2. These programs are intended to support community and national development and to provide a transitional experience for young graduates by assigning them to varied places of employment during the service period. IDMANN Institute supports the motivation behind these national services programs and is proud to extend a unique bursary to active members.
3. In support of this, ACTIVE members of these national service programs may apply for a National Service Bursary. The National Service Bursary covers 60% of the tuition for eligible applicants. It does NOT cover the application fee for STP applicants.
4. To qualify for the National Service Bursary, applicants must be registered in the national service program (or received their call-up documents) at the time of application to the program. (Applicants cannot combine the EPP Challenge Bursary and the National Service Bursary.)
5. The National Service Bursary will only support the first one hundred (100) applicants in the qualifying cohort. This means that applicants who apply early are more likely to be successfully considered for the bursary award. The National Service Bursary is made on a "first-come first-awarded" basis. Students in eligible countries are STRONGLY encouraged to apply early and to indicate their intent to apply for the bursary award. (No special form is required, simply indicate in the application form.)  
6. The National Service Bursary operates on a contributory basis. This means that students must pay their share of the tuition IN A TIMELY MANNER for the bursary to be applied. In the event that students fail to make their payments in a timely manner, the bursary award will automatically lapse and students will be responsible for the full tuition.
7. Bursary awards are for a specific cohort in a specific course and cannot be transferred to another course. However, in the event that the award recipient needs to transfer to a different cohort within the same course, upon approval of their instructor, the bursary award may be transferred to the new cohort at the same level of support as in the previous cohort.
8. The National Service Bursary is available subject to continued availability of funds to support the bursary. The Institute and supporting partners may terminate the program without prior notice. In any circumstance, students awarded a bursary will receive the committed support through the completion of their studies at IDMANN Institute.

Application & Registration Fees: