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An image to illustrate Business management: people management and leadership microcredential
If you want to become an effective and inclusive people manager and leader, this microcredential will introduce you to critical tools and techniques to succeed. You’ll develop your understanding of people management as a living and changing practice and the skills to adapt to different contexts and challenges. You’ll investigate and review how you can support and lead others with care, gaining the skills to create a culture where your team and colleagues feel motivated, included and valued.
On this undergraduate microcredential, you’ll build the skills to become an effective manager and leader in the modern workplace. During this 10-week course, you’ll cover the following topics.
By the end of this Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course, you’ll be able to:
Materials include real-world examples and industry insight, ensuring your learning is relevant to the workplace. The course is particularly suitable for professionals who are:
10 UK credits at undergraduate level from The Open University*. Academic credits are awarded on passing the final assessment. These will be at undergraduate level 6 of the Framework for Higher Education (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) / level 10 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
*Academic credit may be used towards selected OU qualifications. For more details, including eligible qualifications, visit Counting microcredentials towards OU qualifications. The credit awarded may also be used at another university, subject to the agreement of the receiving institution.
Course work includes:
You’ll take part in weekly tasks and discussions with co-learners to support and consolidate your learning. Towards the end of the course, you’ll submit a project or assessment demonstrating the skills you’ve acquired. This will be marked and graded by subject matter experts and make up 100% of your final mark.
This 10-week course requires approximately 10 hours of self-paced learning per week, totalling around 100 hours for completion.
All learning materials, exercises and activities are delivered entirely online.
While certain content can be downloaded, some content is exclusively accessible online, requiring a reliable internet connection for viewing. Please consider this if you are travelling.
Business management: people management and leadership typically starts twice a year – in January and July. This page describes the microcredential that will begin in July 2026 and January 2027.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
This undergraduate-level microcredential will benefit anyone interested in developing their people management and leadership skills.
You don’t need any prior experience or qualifications to enrol. All the required skills and foundational knowledge are covered in this microcredential.
Please note:
The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet, you can contact us about the support that can be given to meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our disability support pages.
StartEndRegister byEngland fee
04 Jul 202631 Oct 202603 Jul 2026£550
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
If this course is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could ask your employer to sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees. Your sponsor just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
The fee information provided here is valid for microcredentials starting in the 2026/27 academic year. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
Level info