1. Home: Explore careers
  2. Supervisor

Supervisor

Alternative titles for this job include Team leader, first line manager

Supervisors manage teams of staff and organise their workload.

Average salary (a year)

£15,000 Starter

to

£30,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

39 to 41 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends on shifts

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a supervisor

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly

Apprenticeship

You could take a team leader and supervisor advanced apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

More Information

Work

You can become a team leader or supervisor by being promoted from within your organisation. In a larger organisation, you may need to complete an in-house management trainee scheme.

Direct Application

You'll usually need at least 1 or 2 years' experience in a job to apply directly for team leader or supervisor vacancies. Employers may also want you to have work-based qualifications and evidence of relevant training certificates for the industry you're working in.

More Information

Further information

You can find out more about careers and qualifications in supervisory management from the Chartered Management Institute.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • leadership skills
  • the ability to motivate and manage staff
  • the ability to organise your time and workload
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • business management skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

On a day to day basis, you may:

  • plan workloads and rotas
  • allocate tasks to team members
  • brief teams on targets, initiatives and policy changes
  • monitor and report on team performance
  • carry out individual appraisals
  • keep up to date with regulations

Working environment

You could work in an office, in a contact centre, in a factory or at a store.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With training and experience, you could move into middle management and then senior management positions.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

Apprentice Site Manager

  • Wage: £17,000.00 - £19,000.00 Annually
  • Location: Leeds

Team Leader Apprentice

  • Wage: £403.75 Weekly
  • Location: Taunton
Find apprenticeships near you

Courses In England

Level 2 Diploma in Team Leading

  • Provider: WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL
  • Start date: 13 September 2022
  • Location: London

Certificate in Principles of Team Leading

  • Provider: NEWCASTLE AND STAFFORD COLLEGES GROUP
  • Start date: 08 September 2022
  • Location: Newcastle-under-Lyme
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

Related careers

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

Call 0800 100 900 to speak to an adviser.

We're open:

  • 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday
  • 10am - 5pm Saturday and bank holidays

We're closed Sunday, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Webchat

You can also use webchat.

Webchat is unavailable if you are using Internet Explorer 11 as your browser. To use webchat, try opening this page on a different web browser.

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.