Training picks up post recession

The executive education sector took a big hit during the recession with many companies cutting costs but only to bounce back performing better than ever.

Employers & Manufacturers Association (EMA) chief executive Alasdair Thompson, said the number of registrations for the 700 short courses the association offers plummeted during the financial downturn.

“Quite a significant drop occurred at the height of the recession: it didn’t bite too much in the 2008 year but in 2009 right from the beginning it started falling away and in the latter half it really fell very low form July on for the rest of 2009.”

While the sector began to recovery in early 2010 it was very slow to the end of March.

“But since then it has been growing very well.

“It’s fully recovered now and in fact it’s ahead of where we were before the recession.”

The executive education sector has been growing steadily year-on-year prior to the recession, particularly over the past five years.

“I think it’s just resume that growth,” said Mr Thompson, “People realise it’s quite a high priority. You can only defer training for so long.”

EMA learning manager David Foley said courses that have an immediate, direct and measurable return for the organisation have been most popular in 2010.

He said staff training is also on the rise because many companies now employ fewer but more skilled staff.

Institute of Strategic Leadership director Geoff Lorigan said the institute’s enrolment numbers too dropped by between 30% and 40% for approximately three months at the height of the recession.

But in July 2009 the demand for chief executive level leadership development courses skyrocketed to the strongest the school has seen since the establishment of its Strategic Leadership Programme.

He said difficult current economic times require changes in strategy and in direction within a business and that means changes in actions, behaviours and attitudes. Now that companies are well aware of it, chief executives are pushed to broaden and perfect their leadership skills, Mr Lorigan said.

“Without effective self and interpersonal awareness and change strategies at the top, there will be passive resistance and passive anger in all levels of staff and the organisation becomes dysfunctional and goes backward.

“If you want to reinvent your organisation, first reinvent your chief executive and general management team.”

Chief executives and managers prefer open programmes to in-house training, as it offers anonymity, Mr Lorigan said.

Although almost all companies realise corporate training is essential for their business to thrive, many either don’t invest in it enough or invest in cheaper poor quality courses, he said, adding approximately 3% of organisation’s salary bill should be spent on staff education.

Dr Peter Sun of the Waikato Management School said most working students taking courses in executive education funded their own studies through student loans.

Postgraduate diploma in management studies, which prepares for leadership and middle management roles covering financial management, marketing and strategy, has been the most popular course during the recession.

It was specifically designed for working students most of whom are in their late 30s. Dr Sun said there has been a “slight” increase in postgraduate enrolments provoked by the recession.

Port of Napier chief operating officer, Chris Bain, who took part in the two-week Ernst & Young Executive Programme, said while it is widely accepted executive education is crucial for company’s success, in the current economic times many businesses can’t afford for staff to be away from for too long.

When choosing an appropriate course, he considered education providers in the US, Europe and Australia as well as New Zealand, and had to take into account the length of the course, the credentials and the cost.