Keep learning after you graduate: management training while you’re on the job

Many management jobs involve significant training opportunities for graduates, whether structured and formalised, or more informal and ad-hoc. Most will offer some support as your increased abilities will benefit the organisation.

Qualifications

Employers may choose to send managers on a postgraduate course to enhance their management skills. The most popular form is the masters in business administration (MBA), which usually takes one year, but may last from ten months to two years full time, and can be studied part time or through distance learning.

A shorter option is the diploma in management studies (DMS), which is usually studied part time over two years. The DMS can count towards the first year of an MBA. Once you’ve got a qualification, you can use your new skills – and any ideas you’ve developed on the course – to improve the management of your business.

In addition, it’s also possible to gain chartered status through the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). You can join this professional body as a student member and study for professional qualifications, which prove your credentials and can be used to advance your career.

Training

In addition to management qualifications, many organisations will also run short courses and seminars that will help you to develop managerial skills. These may be more useful to graduates who want to have the skills they need to do the job, but are less interested in getting a certificate for their efforts, or who cannot spare a year in getting one.

Large businesses may well run courses of their own if they feel that such skills would be useful. Even if they don’t, most companies would happily send employees on short courses if they felt it would improve their productivity, many would pay for them.

• Find out more about the skills you will need as a manager