IMI unveils accreditation scheme for automotive managers

Citation

(2010), "IMI unveils accreditation scheme for automotive managers", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 42 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2010.03742fab.006

IMI unveils accreditation scheme for automotive managers

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 42, Issue 6

Following collaboration between employers and other partners in the sector, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has launched a management and leadership accreditation scheme for the automotive industry.

Automotive Management Accreditation (AMA) will work on a similar basis to the Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) scheme, but is the first accreditation scheme to address managerial needs specific to the sector. It has been designed to measure the competence of automotive managers and highlight development needs benefiting both individuals and the businesses for which they work.

Through consultation with more than 400 employers and others in the retail automotive industry, the IMI has established that managers often lack support in gaining skills to operate as effective leaders. Less than 18 percent of managers in the retail automotive industry have gained a level 4 qualification or assessed training program, compared to the average in all other sectors of 45 percent. With the sector facing real challenges in the next decade, development of strategic and operational management skills is considered vital.

Speaking at the launch of the scheme, Linda Stansfield, IMI chief operating officer, said: “With Automotive Management Accreditation, we have tried to develop a product that addresses the previous concerns with management training, but still offers a robust assessment of competence based along similar lines to the ATA model. Overall, it is a powerful solution to help to bring about a cultural shift to improve management and leadership development and professionalism in the sector.”

The AMA assessment process against defined critical competencies takes a maximum of one day and is carried out in the workplace, thus reducing the time away from the business. Because it is carried out in this environment, it can indicate business-development opportunities beyond those of the individual candidate. Managers who are accredited at level 3 (first-line manager), level 5 (middle manager) or level 7 (senior manager) retain their accreditation for five years. Those who achieve accreditation will be placed on a professional register and will be offered opportunities for continuous professional development on industry-management and leadership issues.

There is a flexible three-way assessment approach to AMA:

1. 1.

   An assessor can visit businesses to help employers with limited management and leadership provision.

2. 2.

   If an employer or training provider has an existing management and leadership program, assistance can be given to map it against the AMA competencies, and the employer’s own management and leadership trainers can be accredited to assess the AMA program internally, providing a cost-effective model.

3. 3.

   AMA can be positioned as the assessment at the end of any program, providing delegates with industry-wide recognition.

The launch of the scheme follows a pilot involving managers from Autoglass, Colin Appleyard Cars, Ford Retail UK, Jaguar Land Rover, Mill Autoquip and Scania.

Steve Scofield, head of the accreditation academy at the IMI, said: “All of the AMA pilot candidates surveyed felt that the assessment had been worthwhile and that they had benefited personally from undertaking it. An overriding comment was that the AMA assessment highlighted to them the breadth of the role that they undertook. The measurable impacts on business performance from the initial case studies include an increase in accessory sales of 54 percent, an increase in customer-survey scores and a reduction in staff absence.”

Governance, moderation and administration of the scheme are the responsibility of the IMI, the professional association and Sector Skills Council for the automotive retail industry.