BG Group celebrates 39 steps to success

Thirty-nine managers from BG Group are celebrating today after taking a step up the management ladder. The managers, who lead teams across five continents, in 20 countries, have gained nationally recognised diplomas from the Chartered Management Institute. Their collective success comes in the wake of research which reveals that one in three employers claim that their managers are not proficient1.

The managers are the first cohort from BG Groupís International Management Programme to graduate with Diplomas in Management. Frank Chapman, chief executive of BG Group plc will present them with certificates at a ceremony later today.2

The candidates studied for their Diplomas in Management while in full-time employment. They completed a series of modules covering key management skills, including performance management, project management, meeting customer needs and managing resources.

To achieve the qualification each individual also had to complete assignments using evidence of their work at BG Group to demonstrate an ability to link the theory of study to practical workplace activity. All submissions were assessed by examiners from Management Transformations Limited (MTL), an Institute-approved assessment centre.

The advantage of this programme was that candidates from diverse backgrounds and cultures could deliver a project which was relevant to their own workplace. Through the submissions made by individuals undertaking the Diploma in Management, BG Group has been able to test and validate a number of its working practices, says Clare Dawson, Centre Director at MTL.

The aim of the International Management Programme (IMP) is to provide managers from BG Group with the opportunity to develop their management skills and knowledge, become more effective in their current and future roles and gain recognition for their level of management competence. It took two years to complete and the 39 managers now have the chance to extend their professional qualifications by embarking on Chartered Manager or MBA programmes.

The IMP incorporates the best of an innovative in-company management development programme within an accredited framework. It underpins a process of individual and organisational change by focusing on tangible skills development across the range of management tasks and activities, as well as developing the participantsí capacity to adapt their skills and knowledge to changing requirements.

The programme is also linked to the new national occupational standards for management and leadership (www.management-standards.org), giving BG Group the chance to benchmark itself against other organisations and map its development activities against a nationally accepted competency framework.

ìContinuing professional development is an integral part of being a successful manager and the managers are to be congratulated on their achievement. The experiences they have gained will be invaluable for each one individually and for BG Group as a whole,î says Neil Southern, director of the Chartered Management Institute.