Highlights – 27 May

Last week, the Financial Times named CMI as a key source for UK leadership and professional development training. In a report on the pressure facing traditional business schools, the paper noted that employers often bypass or supplement the offerings from traditional academic institutions by turning to online platforms, private training providers and professional bodies like us.

The story came very soon after we launched our suite of Leadership for AI qualifications. Developed in partnership with TechSkills, the UK’s employer-led accreditation body for digital skills, these brand new courses are aimed at managers at all levels. They help to plug a critical skills gap and convert AI investment into tangible productivity gains.

Real-world learnings

Of course, we wouldn’t be able to have such a transformative impact on learners and their employers without our network of valued partner institutions. In this week’s newsletter, we hand the spotlight to our Training Provider of the Year, Corndel, and our HE Partner of the Year, Teesside University, sharing what makes their provision so powerful for career development. 

In part, that’s about helping learners demonstrate the added value and, in turn, command a higher salary. In a letter to the Financial Times, Petra Wilton, CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, cited CMI figures showing that graduates from courses accredited with professional standards earn around 8% more within 15 months. But Petra’s main point was that judging business degrees based solely on average salaries ignores how far they can help learners to advance in life. 

“When we compare average earnings, we often ignore the fact that business programmes are a primary choice for students who are the first in their families to go to university,” Petra wrote. “For a student from a lower socio-economic background, a business degree isn’t just a qualification; it provides transferable skills and an entry into a professional world that was previously out of reach.”

Speaking to the Global Health and Mobility Summit, CMI’s head of international, Zain Munir, explained that winning the war for talent isn’t about being the quickest to adopt automation; it’s about investing in people and nurturing human capacity. 

Making (or breaking) careers

The need for nurture never ends. Ann Francke OBE CMgr CCMI, CMI’s chief executive, used her latest column in The Times to offer advice on delivering tough feedback without damaging office culture. Ann warned leaders not to confuse being liked with being effective – a classic accidental manager trap. She then advised readers to end the “annual ambush” of performance reviews and instead provide feedback in the moment, prioritise clarity and implement a simple, 360-degree accountability framework. 

Petra cited our accidental managers data – that 82% of UK managers have never received formal training – in another published reaction, this time in NewStart Magazine, where she stressed that a young person’s first manager can make or break their career.

But young people aren’t the only ones who need the right support as they rise through the ranks. At the first-ever National Allyship Summit, organised by Male Allies UK, we learned why the issue of gender balance in leadership roles remains critical. The event saw the launch of new research into the subject, which was discussed in a fireside chat between Vivienne Artz OBE CMgr CCMI, chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review, and KPMG’s Simon Albrighton. You can read our key takeaways from that conversation in this week’s newsletter. 

Best,

Matt Roberts CMgr FCMI

Director of membership and professional development, CMI

Image: CMI