An Economic Impact Assessment of the Consultative Committee for Professional Management Organisations (December 2008)

A report exploring how professional qualifications and membership of professional bodies help improve earnings and employability.

Published: December 2008

Authors: Jonathan Chapman, Dr. Gavan Conlon and Patrice Muller.

ISBN: 0-85946-491-1

Price: FREE – download from the right of this page, or for hard copies of the executive summary email research@managers.org.uk or telephone 020 7421 2721.

This report, undertaken by the independent economic consultancy firm London Economics, demonstrates that individuals with professional qualifications and membership of professional bodies stand to gain £152,000 in additional earnings over the course of their career.

This boost in earnings is comprised of two parts. The first is the estimated lifetime economic benefit associated with holding professional qualifications, which has been valued at £81,000; the second relates to how membership of a professional body can result in additional earnings of up to £71,000 in today’s money terms.

Critically, the study reveals that individuals with professional qualifications and membership enjoy a 9 per cent increase in the probability of being employed because of the transferable skills on offer. This figure, coupled with the 37 per cent wage premium received by professionally qualified staff highlights the high value employers place on the skills developed by professional bodies.

The report was commissioned by the Consultative Committee for Professional Management Organisations (CCPMO), a consortium of eight leading professional bodies including CMI.