How do I become a team leader? What educational paths and qualifications are there?

Team management and personnel management training courses are available at various levels (basic and advanced courses) and also for specific sectors and professional groups (business, industry, medicine, social work). They usually have a modular structure and conclude with a school or association certificate (Swissmem).

Most providers of team leader training require professional experience for admission to their basic courses, but no management experience. This means that you can start with a basic course, gain your first practical team leadership experience at the same time or afterwards and deepen your leadership skills later in advanced courses.

Courses for team leadership in the office, technical environment and customer service

There is a wide range on offer here. Some courses and qualifications are recognized and certified by Swissmem (the leading association for SMEs and large companies in the Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM industries) and related technology-oriented sectors).

The concept of the Swissmem-recognized Team Leader courses has three levels:

  • Basic module "Supervisor"
  • Advanced module "Office" or "Technology"
  • Final module "Customer service" or "Production"

Team management courses in medicine / social medicine / social services

Although group dynamics and the management of employees are basically the same in all sectors, the operational/institutional and professional requirements are so different that specialized training is offered for some sectors.

You can find courses that prepare you for management tasks in the medical field or in social / socio-medical institutions here:

On the way to a federal certificate as a management specialist?

You can also acquire team leadership skills in the "Leadership SVF" module. It is one of the two modules in preparation for the examination for the federal certificate as a management specialist. You can find out more about this course here:

Provider of "Team leader" courses