Tough at the top? This will make it easier...
Last updated 17:53, Thursday, 27 March 2008
IT’S TOUGH at the top. So how do bosses know if they’re any good at the job – especially if they never had the right training in the first place? A new management degree, tailored to the needs of local businesses and delivered at colleges throughout the county, is being launched by the University of Cumbria to give bosses a helping hand.
The new degree is being developed in conjunction with Cumbria Higher Learning, a partnership of the areas higher and further education establishments, with the backing of West Cumbria Development Agency and Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Promoting people into managerial positions without giving them the necessary skills or training to do the job properly can lead to all sorts of problems in the workplace,” explained Helen Gudgeon, Higher Education Progression and Curriculum Manager for Cumbria Higher Learning.
“Managers, particularly middle managers, are crucial in a business or organisation. If they get things wrong then staff do one of two things; they either leave, or they become resentful and start under-performing.
“Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular – which form the backbone of the county’s economy – cannot afford to let this happen.
“Cumbria is way below the national average when it comes to middle managers with qualifications above A-level or NVQ 3 standard and it is a real problem for businesses.”
Cumbria Higher Learning is putting Cumbrian employers’ needs at the heart of the degree and are being invited to help fine-tune the new qualification so that it exactly meets their needs. The precise contents of the degree, which will be delivered in local Further Education colleges across the county from October, will be finalised at employer seminars being held over the next few weeks.
Helen went on: “We have been around the county, asking all sorts of employers what they need and the majority have asked for flexible, locally-delivered training for middle managers.
“Whether it’s manufacturing, engineering, retail, tourism, the care sector or food production, middle managers need specific skills to drive the businesses forward. It could be managing conflict, learning how to delegate effectively or formulating business plans but we want to deliver a course that is absolutely relevant so that managers benefit, businesses benefit and Cumbria’s economy benefits.
“We are holding seminars because we want companies to tell us exactly what topics they want covered in the course.”
Diane McCracken, Business Support Manager of West Cumbria Development Agency, said: “We greatly welcome the development of higher level business management skills by the University of Cumbria as these will be required in West Cumbria particularly to help meet the challenges of the nuclear decommissioning industry.”
“People tend to be promoted to management because they have good technical skills in whatever business they’re in but to be an effective manager you need good management skills too,” explained Suzanne Caldwell, Enterprise Development Manager for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Very often these are picked up on the job rather than through formal training and while many people learn to be great managers this way it does mean that you’re only learning from the examples immediately around you.
“This new degree is a great opportunity for managers and aspiring managers to look wider than that and a good early step in their management training.”
Employers are invited to attend the following FREE seminars:
February 28 Abbey House Hotel, Barrow;
March 7 Castle Green Hotel, Kendal;
March 13 West Cumbria Development Agency at Lillyhall, Workington.
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