How Chartered status changed these five managers’ careers

When we spoke to Arup’s Sandy Farar CMgr FCMI, she told us how she was promoted to a senior business partner role within a year of gaining Chartered status, becoming part of the consultancy’s leadership team. 

Sandy was keen to stress that this was no mere coincidence. 

“I had nothing to show for my expertise until I became Chartered,” she told us. “This achievement not only validated my skills, but also transformed my career, opening up new opportunities and allowing me to advance into leadership roles. This would never have happened ordinarily, because I didn’t have a degree.”

For Deborah Collier CMgr FCMI, our most recent Chartered Manager of the Week, becoming Chartered led to an expansion of her work at Careers Ideas. 

“Two projects I’m currently working on are funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, which in turn is funded by the Ministry of Defence,” she said. “Being Chartered has provided immediate assurance to clients. When you’re working with key defence organisations, it requires high levels of trust, governance and accountability.”

Opening doors

Sunil Patel CMgr FCMI spoke of the catalytic impact of Chartered status in no uncertain terms.

“It’s supercharged my career,” he told us, adding that the move has opened up huge opportunities for him and his employer, Hollowood Chemists, which can now compete with far more powerful rivals.

“We’ve had massive global tech companies wanting to build AI systems and other smart technologies with us,” he explained. “One of those companies works with IKEA and Dr. Max – the largest pharmacy chain in Europe – but they can see the advantages of working with a smaller business run by a Chartered Manager. We might be small, but we know what we’re doing.”

Others have seen fresh opportunities open up in the job market. In September, Ambrose Isibor CMgr MCMI shared how, after gaining his accreditation, his phone was “like a call centre, ringing non-stop” with job offers.