Good management and leadership skills vital to economy

Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey today highlighted that good management and leadership skills are key to the future development of Northern Ireland’s economy.

The Minister was making the keynote address at this year’s Management and Leadership Conference which brought to a conclusion Management Month, an initiative aimed at encouraging businesses to invest in management and leadership skills as part of their growth strategies.

Sir Reg stressed that there is a growing recognition that effective management and leadership skills will be key to driving the vision and harnessing the creative efforts of the workforce to deliver economic success.

He said: “As we strive to develop as an internationally competitive, knowledge-based economy we must develop the management skills necessary to support that growth. Northern Ireland’s future prosperity will ultimately be built on local businesses that are globally competitive.”

The Minister pointed out that his department’s management and leadership strategy, ‘Leading to Success’, has outlined a number of specific actions to be undertaken in partnership between government and the private sector, to improve these skills.

He said: “My department now offers a much more cohesive, interconnected and easy-to-navigate set of services to promote the development of management capability in Northern Ireland. In addition to some of our more traditional development programmes, our new Management: Analysis and Planning programme (MAP), aimed directly at the smaller to medium sized business, offers not only free consultancy support, but also up to £7,000 of financial assistance to help small companies to take action on their identified training and development needs.”

This new approach will seek to help effect permanent change in organisations by focussing on training and development activities that will help individual managers to improve their own business results. Already, since its introduction in September last year, almost 100 companies have engaged with this new programme.

Sir Reg continued: “I am committed to developing a new approach to management development in Northern Ireland, based on a clear articulation of business needs and based on action-oriented training. The emphasis will be on practical skills and flexible delivery methods.

“I am also committed to a partnership approach that will embrace the best in all sectors in Northern Ireland. The ‘Leading to Success’ strategy is now being taken forward by a cross-sectoral project board comprising representatives of the public, private and voluntary sectors. Government has its role to play, but the acquisition of higher level skills is also the responsibility of the employer and the individual.”

Sir Reg was joined by a number of local business leaders including Mark Ennis, Chair of the Management and Leadership network, Siobhan McAleer, founder of the Mortgage Shop, and Philip Cassidy, founder of GEM, Europe’s leading advisers on contact centre services.

Mark Ennis said: “The Management and Leadership conference is about broadening the aspirations of business with regards to the development of their managerial talent. Our most recent research highlights that local business owners view Northern Ireland managers as not having adequate leadership skills. Businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that investing in management and leadership capabilities is essential for higher growth and profitability.”

Professor Robert Hutchinson, Dean of the University of Ulster’s Faculty of Business and Management, Northern Ireland’s Business School, which is the academic partner for the conference said: “We are encouraging businesses to see management development as an ongoing investment, not just a one-off opportunity. For Northern Ireland’s economy to prosper long-term, businesses need to develop the right mix of management and leadership skills to compete both locally and internationally.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The conference is the culmination of Management Month, which takes place during February each year in line with Management and Leadership Network’s (MLN) remit to raise awareness of management and leadership, and to signpost Small Medium Enterprises towards the development opportunities on offer in Northern Ireland.
2. It is estimated that over 4,500 people participated on over 90 management month events throughout Northern Ireland. The conference was supported by policy makers including the Department for Employment and Learning, Invest NI and the Skills and Business Network along with private sector sponsors such as S Spengler Fox, George Best City Airport, Ryanair, O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors and Construction Skills.
3. Over 300 business people attended the conference to hear from internationally renowned leadership guru René Carayol and other speakers such as Northern Ireland football legend Gerry Armstrong, Operations Director of Ryanair, David O’Brian and leadership writer Aine Maria Mizzoni.
4. The MLN is funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, with the remit of building awareness, signposting assistance and measurement of management and leadership uptake and development in Northern Ireland.
5. The Department’s Management and Leadership strategy, ‘Leading to Success’, was published in July 2007 and contains a detailed action plan to promote a better understanding of the economic value of good management development within organisations and outlines effective actions to tackle barriers to investment.
6. Media enquiries to the Department of Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872
7. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.