Over 400 organisations join CMI for its 2021 Partner Conference

• Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, praises CMI’s “purposeful contribution to a better UK Plc”
• Delegates joined by CMI president Lord Mark Price, Adam Marshall CBE and Jennifer Coupland, CE of the Board of Apprenticeships, to address key learning and management issues
• Panel discussions and debates focus on topics including international opportunities, examination of Government policies and the case for management apprenticeships

12th November 2021: The Chartered Management Institute held its annual Partner Conference on the 11th of November, in an online forum that was attended by over 400 representatives from universities, colleges, training providers and employers from around the world.

Among the speakers were The Right Honourable Nadhim Zahawi MP, Secretary of State for Education, whose address included praise for CMI’s mission to change accidental managers into conscientious leaders. He also noted how universities must “do more to reach out to those from disadvantaged backgrounds”, and that employers “should feel absolutely empowered to target investment at programmes that optimise their pipeline of talent”.

The Secretary of State confirmed that a key focus of the Government is to align higher education’s focus with the needs of industry for key skills. He also reiterated that the Government will publish in the coming weeks further details on its response to both the recent spending review settlement for Higher Education and the Augar Report.

Also speaking was Paul Scully MP, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets. His speech focused on the Government’s Help To Grow programme and the crucial role both business schools and the CMI are playing in helping deliver post-Covid economic recovery.

Commenting on the day’s events, CMI’s CEO, Ann Francke said: “It was great to hear from the Secretary of State and the Minister and explore a range of topics including levelling up, management apprenticeships and reactions to CMIs recent employability research. The research highlighted that nearly 80% of employers believe that graduates do not arrive with the skills they need to be work-ready and only one  in four students feel that they can demonstrate key employability skills.

“It’s clear that managers are facing unprecedented challenges as we adapt to the new working environment. Our delegates agreed that the Government needs to fully support businesses in their efforts to identify and develop talent. Integral to this is the role our universities play in equipping the new generation of managers with the right skills for the roles our businesses so desperately need.

“Eyes are now on the Government to fulfil its promises and on our institutions to play their part in ensuring our workforce is best-equipped to deliver the high-skills and high wages economy that we all want to see.”

During the day winners of five categories of the annual CMI Awards were announced:

• Student of the Year - Colin Stephenson, ACMI, Pharmacy Business Manager, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Student at the School of Business, University of Leicester.
• Apprentice of the Year - Deepak Ravindran, Medical Consultant, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, who studied with Henley Business School.
• Learning Provider of the Year - Exeter College.
• Outstanding Innovation and Delivery of the Year - Accipio
• HE Partner of the Year - The University of Huddersfield.

The Conference was followed by the President’s Dinner, this year held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in the presence of CMI’s patron, HRH The Countess of Wessex.