- Supervisors will often be required to provide instruction on the correct use and handling of machinery and equipment- including the use of hazardous substances- so they need to be technically competent in these aspects.
- They are also responsible for educating new employees and apprentices about specific workplace policies and procedures, so their knowledge in these areas needs to be extensive.
- Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare (OHS&W) are key areas for Supervisor attention and will require competent skills and comprehensive knowledge.
- Because Supervisors generally oversee more than one job, it’s helpful if they have broad skills and work experience across a number of different areas in the business.
- For the employer grooming a group of potential Supervisors as part of succession planning, it can be useful to provide this experience and opportunity for skills development through job rotation.
- Employees with a goal to becoming a Supervisor could investigate ways of obtaining knowledge or skills in particular work tasks not part of their current job. This could involve short courses or workshops away from the workplace- or asking to learn new skills and earn new qualifications on-the-job through Vocational Education and Training (VET). Discuss options with your manager or HR personnel- at the very least you will have flagged your interest in a supervisory role down the track.