An advanced professional qualification for trainers

Abstract

In ICT of October 1977, Duncan Smith's article, “An Advanced Professional Qualification for Trainers” identifies a central problem: namely in what way should we develop, educate and train those executives who themselves are to hold the key role of directing the training activity within employing organisations. His analysis of the problem, and his proposals to solve it, raise some fascinating trains of thought for the management educator who works in the sector of the polytechnics and regional management centres. Where Duncan Smith focuses upon the role and the skills, knowledge and personal qualities necessary to fulfil it, I shall attempt to relate those ideas to the general framework of management education which has developed and is developing in Britain. Taking the point that that framework may well currently be deficient in coping with the demand that Duncan Smith has identified, I shall advance the idea that we can learn from contemporary developments in the USA. Such developments relate to exploiting the potential of the Doctoral programme to accommodate needs of this kind. In Britain we have available the skeleton framework for such action, by virtue of the range available within the Council for National Academic Awards. Within that framework exists the opportunity to pioneer new developments through the medium of the PhD, and a starting point for such pioneering could be established by working from the analysis of the British scene provided by Duncan Smith and drawing upon relevant comparative studies, such as the USA case which I present later.