Background information

ManagementWorks was a former programme for owners and senior managers of micro, small and medium sized companies in all sectors of the economy. It was designed as a suite of management development programmes, including coaching and further education. It has been subsumed into the broader Skillnet Ireland suite of packages.

Content of measure

Management Development offers a suite of programmes run by  Skillnet Ireland  to help business owners, managers and management teams achieve better results.

It runs several programmes including see :

Accredited programmes:

• Leading people and teams;
• Postgraduate IMI Diploma in leadership;
• Postgraduate IMI Diploma in strategy and innovation;
• Postgraduate IMI Diploma in management;
• BSc (Hons) in management practice.

Coach led programmes:

• Strategic business planning;
• Lean business;
• Management team alignment;
• Driving team dynamics;
• Leading people and teams;
• Business leadership;
• Business growth.

Team programmes:

• Strategic business planning;
• Management team alignment;
• Driving team dynamics.

Management Development is designed to raise awareness of the sources of finance available through its business growth and business leadership programmes; to increase confidence and ability to discuss firms' finances; to increase confidence and ability to make a case for securing finance for businesses; to increase understanding of how banks are assessing credit applications in a non-asset backed application; and to raise awareness of how the Credit Review Office might assist businesses, in the event that an application for credit is declined.

It was funded by the Department of Education and Skills.

Use of measure

Management Development has assisted business people across a wide range of services, such as radio, property management, energy companies and accountancy.

An Indecon independent evaluation from 2018 mentioned the following:

• 87.5% of participant firms agreed that the programme activities were focused on the delivery of skills that were vital to drive growth and competitiveness in their business;
• 67.3% of Management Development programme participant enterprises either strongly agreed or agreed that they had the opportunity to influence the design of management training, reflecting the opportunity for collaboration and cocreation within a Skillnet Ireland network;
• 84.8% of firms that participated in management development training during 2018 strongly agreed (44.8%) or agreed (40%) that the training has enabled some staff to train for the first time.

Each of the Management Development programmes carry positive testimonials. An example is from  Dylan Traynor, Manufacturing Team Leader, Barclay Chemicals, who said the content 'was relevant to my job, with lots of interaction and discussion-based classes.'

While not necessarily a weakness of the training provided by the programme, the costs associated with Management Development increased significantly in 2018, which is explained by Indecon as a possible reflection of the 'evolving nature of management development training since this area of Skillnet Ireland’s remit was reformed in 2017/18.'

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 01 October 2019: Indecon (2019) independent evaluation of Skillnet Ireland and other programmes (www.skillnetireland.ie)