How to Become a Manager

Whether you’re giving feedback, holding interviews or training your team, managing people is both rewarding and challenging. Keen to become a manager? Here’s our quick guide to what’s involved and the skill set you’ll need.

It’s perfectly possible to work your way up from an entry-level job to a management role. In fact, according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) only one in five managers have recognised management qualifications.

However, there are lots of advantages to gaining qualifications. You’ll sharpen your skills, increase your knowledge, earn more and improve your chances of future promotion.

There are several ways to gain management qualifications.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) are the UK’s best-known management training providers. They offer qualifications in a wide range of areas including team-leading, strategic management, management and leadership, business and enterprise and coaching and mentoring.

If you sign up to study with the CMI or the ILM you’ll gain the knowledge and skills you’ll need to deal with even the trickiest of people management situations. You’ll also become a member, which gives you access to useful research, learning materials and networking opportunities.

Both the CMI and the ILM offer awards (which take 1-3 months), certificates (which take 3-6 months) and diplomas (which take up to a year). Both have recently started to offer intermediate and higher-level apprenticeships in team leading and management. And both offer the option of studying online, in the classroom or in-house. So how do you know whether you’d be better off studying with the CMI or the ILM?

Every year companies recruit new graduates into management. While having a management or business degree can increase your chances of landing a leadership role, employers are often equally interested in your degree class, skills and personal qualities.

Many employers run structured training programmes aimed at developing good leaders. Known as graduate training schemes, these usually require a 2:1 degree and sometimes lead to a permanent managerial role.

Master’s?

If studying at postgraduate level appeals, why not apply to do a master’s degree? You could study management in general or focus on a particular area of management, such as marketing management. Postgraduate diplomas are also available and your employer may allow you time off to study or pay your fees.

Managers oversee a department or team of employees within a company or organisation. As well as being excellent communicators and good at taking charge, they need to be fair-minded, positive and persuasive. If you become a manager your responsibilities are likely to include:

Think you’d make a good manager? Give yourself a head start by applying for one of our professional management courses. Check out the full range on our website.