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The move from individual contributor to people manager is one of the most significant and challenging shifts in any career. Many first-line managers find themselves navigating new expectations: letting go of doing the work themselves, delegating effectively, and driving performance through others while maintaining trust and morale. Stepping into leadership, whether for the first time or after years of technical expertise, often requires a new balance of mindset and skill.
ASCEND is Korn Ferry Academy's first line manager programme in Singapore, a six-month, part-time course designed to support that transition. This first line manager course equips participants with the essential tools to manage people, performance, and priorities effectively. Through structured learning, self-assessment, and personalised coaching, participants learn how to set direction, give feedback, manage difficult conversations, and build engagement within their teams.
Grounded in Korn Ferry's global research and tailored for new managers in Singapore's workforce context, ASCEND provides a hands-on, evidence-based pathway for becoming a capable and confident people manager. Participants leave ready to handle the day-to-day realities of leadership and to build teams that perform, collaborate, and grow together.
This new managers course is designed for professionals making the critical transition from individual contributor to people leader:
Participants are generally stepping into their first people-leadership role or have been managing teams for less than two years. They need practical frameworks to delegate effectively, manage performance, and build team engagement while maintaining operational delivery.
This first line manager programme builds six essential capabilities that distinguish effective people managers from individual contributors:
1. Self-Awareness & Adaptability
Understand how your behaviours and habits influence team dynamics. Lead with authenticity and make intentional choices that strengthen your effectiveness.
2. Business & Commercial Acumen
Connect team decisions to business outcomes. Interpret financial and operational information to balance people needs with organisational goals.
3. Delegation & Accountability
Drive results through others using proven delegation frameworks. Build ownership, maintain motivation, and sustain team momentum without micromanaging.
4. Performance Management
Set clear expectations, provide constructive feedback, and manage performance across diverse and multigenerational teams with fairness and clarity.
5. Difficult Conversations
Navigate sensitive topics with confidence. Address underperformance, manage conflict, and maintain trust while holding teams accountable.
6. Executive Presence & Influence
Communicate with credibility and confidence. Build your personal brand and influence across levels to earn trust and respect.
ASCEND helps first-line managers build the confidence and capability to lead others effectively. Over six months, participants gain self-awareness, develop essential management skills, and apply what they learn through guided coaching and reflection.
ASCEND prepares first-line managers to take on people-leadership responsibilities with confidence. This first line manager course supports organisations in building a strong foundation of capable managers who can engage teams, manage performance, and contribute to long-term leadership pipelines.
Developed from Korn Ferry’s global leadership insights, the programme builds the capabilities that help new managers step up with confidence and perform effectively in their first people-leadership roles.
Each participant receives individual feedback and coaching linked to their strengths, role, and work environment. This ensures learning remains relevant, actionable, and connected to everyday challenges.
The six-month, part-time structure allows participants to learn, apply, and reflect without stepping away from their responsibilities. Organisations find this balance supports capability building with minimal operational disruption.
Organisations report stronger engagement and clearer communication within teams led by ASCEND graduates, along with improved confidence and consistency among new managers.
Sessions are led by facilitators with practical management experience who connect leadership concepts to real workplace scenarios. Learning is grounded, engaging, and easy to apply.
SkillsFuture funding makes ASCEND a cost-effective way to build leadership capability across teams while maintaining programme quality and depth.
ASCEND forms the first step in Korn Ferry Academy’s leadership journey. Graduates can progress to programmes such as ACCELERATE, which builds on these foundations by deepening people-leadership and change-management capabilities.
Full Programme Fee:
$10,400* (before funding and GST)
Programme Fee Payable
The payable programme fees reflect the amount after approved programme fee grant and subsidies are applied. All fees are in Singapore Dollars (SGD) and inclusive of 9% GST.
SkillsFuture Funding (SSG)
Eligible Singapore Citizens (SCs) and Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) may receive funding of up to 70% of course fees for SSG-supported courses. Funding levels, eligibility and payable fees are subject to prevailing funding policies at the point of course commencement.
Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy (MCES)
SCs aged 40 and above may receive up to 90% course fee funding for SSG-supported courses (subject to meeting baseline funding conditions).
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Enhanced Training Support for SMEs (ETSS)
Eligible SMEs that fully sponsor their SC/PR employees for SSG-supported courses may receive up to 90% course fee funding.
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SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC)
Eligible employers may utilise their SFEC to offset up to 90% of out-of-pocket costs for supported courses.
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SkillsFuture Credit (for Individuals)
SCs aged 25 and above may use their SkillsFuture Credit (Base Tier and, where eligible, Mid-Career Tier) to offset payable course fees for eligible courses.
More information >
Programme Completion & Certification
To successfully complete the ASCEND programme, participants must meet the following requirements for each of the five course modules:
Participants who meet these requirements will receive a digital Certificate of Completion from Korn Ferry Academy.
Administrative details on attendance tracking, assessment, and funding eligibility can be found in our Terms & Conditions and in the course confirmation email sent to participants.
Short workshops introduce management concepts; ASCEND builds real capability over six months. You apply delegation, feedback, and performance management frameworks to your actual team challenges, supported by individual coaching. You leave with tested approaches, not just theory.
Yes. ASCEND is specifically designed for first-time managers and supervisors in their first two years of leading teams. The programme starts with self-awareness and personal leadership before progressing to advanced management skills.
Eight full days in-person over 6 months (5 core modules), three 1-hour virtual coaching sessions, and 1–2 hours of pre-work per module. Full-day sessions typically run from 8:30am–5:30pm. The structure allows you to apply learning immediately while managing your team.
Participants who successfully complete the programme receive a Korn Ferry Academy Certificate of Completion. The programme equips you with essential people-leadership skills including delegation, performance management, and difficult conversations. These capabilities are foundational for first-line management roles and career progression.
No. Many ASCEND participants are technical specialists promoted into management. The programme teaches practical frameworks for delegation, feedback, and team motivation—skills that can be learned and developed, not innate personality traits.
You're paired with an experienced coach for three 1-hour virtual sessions. Coaching helps you apply ASCEND frameworks to your real challenges: delegating your first major project, giving tough feedback to an underperformer, or managing conflict between team members.
Yes. ASCEND includes specific modules on managing performance in hybrid environments and adapting your leadership style across diverse, multigenerational teams—including those working remotely.
Minimum 75% attendance is required for certification. If you miss a session due to urgent work or personal commitments, contact the programme team to explore options for joining an alternate cohort (subject to availability).
Blended format. The five core modules are delivered in-person in Singapore for hands-on practice and peer learning. Coaching sessions and pre-work are completed virtually, allowing you to balance the programme with your management responsibilities.
ASCEND is designed for organisations seeking to develop their first-line management capability and is available for corporate groups. To discuss your team's needs, intake schedules, group enrolment, or customisation options, please complete our enquiry form and our programme team will be in touch.
"What I most valued about the leadership development programme was not just the knowledge imparted through the prepared materials but also the approach taken by the facilitators. The way they conducted the class, presented the content, and interacted with both my classmates and me truly enhanced my learning experience. Their engaging methods made the concepts come alive and ensured they resonated effectively with all of us."
"Very insightful and practical sessions, which are useful and applicable in my daily work. Strive to utilise the soft skills acquired from the course, such as communication, influencing skills and teamwork, to enhance collaboration and relationships with internal and external stakeholders."
"The KornFerry Academy programme is carefully curated and offers participants actionable tools, essential leadership frameworks, and critical competencies needed to thrive in today’s dynamic work environment and dealing with a multi-generation workforce. Beyond immediate skill-building, it established a strong platform for sustained leadership growth within the organisation. The outcomes have been both tangible and forward-looking, empowering our managers and leaders to step into their roles with greater confidence, clarity, and influence. We especially valued the comprehensive and rigorous training curriculum, which was also highly practical and hands-on, enabling our employees to immediately apply their learnings. The sharing from the experienced facilitators and making an effort to align the programme to our situation was a rewarding journey and delivered meaningful impact for our team."
"The constant sharing of personal experiences in the corporate world by each facilitator, along with their solutions, made the learning process more practical. Korn Ferry Academy has indeed shown us a very different way of learning."
"Through different scenarios played, the facilitators managed to deliver the content, made it easier to understand and create bonding experiences."
