Apprenticeships 'can hone management skills'

Senior management executives in sales and other professions believe that apprenticeships could be the way forward for the industry, according to new research.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has found that 69 per cent of the 503 business leaders surveyed in its study consider apprenticeships as an effective means of 'boosting skills and performance'.

According to the industry body, the positive response suggests that the huge rise in the number of management apprentices since 2005 is allowing managers to see first-hand 'the impact apprentices have on day-to-day performance'.

Other findings in the research were that 92 per cent of managers consider teamwork and interpersonal skills to have been improved by training given in apprenticeship schemes.

In addition to this, 84 per cent think that problem solving and analytical thinking skills are 'enhanced' – challenging the common conception that apprenticeships are for 'trades' and 'low level' skills only.

Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the CMI, said: "The onus is on government, professional bodies and employers to find a way of knocking down barriers that prevent further uptake.

"The apprenticeship route ensures that individuals have access to a wide variety of roles and functions within an organisation, meaning that participants have genuine experience of work as they develop increased levels of responsibility.

"In effect, this makes them more ready to manage than an individual emerging from university with no work experience behind them."
Posted by Jake Cantrell

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