88% of managers say they get insufficient training

A poll of 200 small to medium sized business owners, directors and managers has found that the overwhelming majority believe they received insufficient training to do their job.

The UK survey found that 88 per cent believe they’re being held back because of a lack of proper management training. One in three even said they were given no training or support to manage budgets, while one in four said they were given no training or support to manage people.

Most of those surveyed by MindGenius did say they were given responsibility for managing people, budgets and major projects at an early stage in their careers – but were unprepared for the new tasks.

The 88 per cent said they thought employers could do more to equip their staff with management training and skills, while 83 per cent said the government should place greater importance on business management education.

Some 40 per cent reported that they were given responsibility for managing a major project at the very start of their careers and, of those, half were given no training or on-the-job advice for managing major projects.

Almost three quarters said they were given immediate responsibility for managing people in their most recent roles but only 22 per cent said they were given ongoing training and support.

Just three per cent of respondents thought UK companies led the world in the quality of their management while 57 per cent said the UK ranks from the middle to the bottom among developed nations.

“These results confirm that we place a high level of importance on technical competence but significantly less on management skills,” said Ashley Marron, chief executive officer of MindGenius.

“The reality, in most industries, is that people who demonstrate a high level of technical proficiency are invariably placed in management roles for which they are ill-equipped.

“Suddenly they find themselves having to plan, make strategic decisions, manage people and balance budgets, none of which they have been trained to do.”

He added: “Other developed countries, including the United States, Germany and Japan, see business management as an essential discipline while, for many of our companies, it’s an afterthought.”