Message from the Hon David Cretney MHK

I am pleased to endorse the Chartered Management Institute Manx Executive Challenge as it provides a worthwhile training opportunity for participants to help give them the skills to become the senior managers of tomorrow. I am impressed with the changes which are to be implemented for 2010 so that the Chartered Management Institute is working together with the International Business School in the Isle of Man. This will provide training that is not only useful for the Challenge and in the workplace, but will count towards professional development qualifications that participants may want to build upon at a later stage.

If organizations are to survive and prosper in the modern world of rapid change, they need to be more flexible, faster-moving and faster-learning than before. Their ability to do this rests upon the abilities of their managers to have these characteristics. If individuals are able to learn, develop and change, then so can the organizations.

It is important for any organization, large or small, to plan the training that its people may need. In difficult times organizations can so easily slow down or cut out training, but these are exactly the times when we need to focus on developing our people so that they are ready for the future. Trained and energized managers are just what a company needs to stimulate growth.

The innovation, flexibility and dedication that are necessary to build truly dynamic companies comes from well-trained and supported managers. One of the best ways to encourage and support individuals in your workforce is through professional development and training opportunities. As employees develop new skills, increase networking and represent the company out in the larger world, and develop leadership opportunities, the business environment becomes infused with energy and creativity.

Allowing your managers to participate in the MEC, will help toward infusing your business with new ideas and creative ways of solving old problems. Learning new skills and interacting with new and different people has a direct impact on the productivity and development of the work environment.

Hon David Cretney MHK, Minister for Trade & Industry