Four in five (80%) managers currently feel that they face a barrier to their career progression at their current place of employment, according to a new survey commissioned by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS).
The survey of 500 employees in middle and upper management roles revealed that a lack of support from an employer or a line manager (29.4%) was perceived as the most common barrier to their progression.[2] This was followed by a lack of confidence to push for a promotion or new role (21.4%) and a lack of time to upskill outside of work hours (21.2%).
When it comes to facilitating further progression, more than half of respondents (53.2%) would like their employer to provide additional support by funding professional development courses or providing the time for employees to attend them.[3]
Professor Bryan Lukas, Academic Director of Executive Education at AMBS, said: “The value of professional development, especially around leadership skills, cannot be underestimated. It benefits individuals by giving them the skills and confidence they need to open up new opportunities in their workplace, and it benefits organisations by helping them to support the next generation of leaders.
“Unfortunately, some businesses do suffer from a skills gap in their management ranks, including the executive level, and pedestrian business performance is often the result. The good news is that all this is largely avoidable. Leadership skills can be acquired, and it’s good practice for organisations to put structured investment in place that empowers, encourages and enables employees to develop the professional skills they need. What this survey makes clear is that people do not always feel confident or supported as their leadership roles evolve, and that’s what we need to address.”
To meet this growing demand, AMBS has recently broadened its portfolio of short business courses to equip future leaders with the professional skills they need to lead their businesses successfully.
Devised by industry-leading academics, the 16 new courses, with more to follow, cover areas such as strategic planning, data and artificial intelligence (AI), leadership psychology, international business strategy and ESG leadership. Each course comes with a certificate attached, and any four courses can be combined into a Manchester Professional Diploma in Leadership.
Speaking about the courses, Bryan added: “People are increasingly appreciating the value of lifelong learning – the majority of those we surveyed said they are now more than ever likely to undertake a personal development course to further their skills. We know that time can be a challenge but delivering each of these courses in a bite-sized chunk of four days will ensure that they are accessible and open to everyone.
“Different leaders will need different skills and that’s why we’ve tailored our courses to offer leadership development in diverse fields, with the shared principle of delivering tangible, real-world benefits in the workplace. We’re looking forward to welcoming the next generation of industry leaders onto our programme and helping to knock down some of the skill barriers they face.”
You can find out more about the new short business courses at AMBS here.
