Press Release

New CEO calls on employers to address skills crisis

2nd June 2008

Ruth Spellman takes up new post at the Chartered Management Institute

Ruth Spellman OBE begins her new role, today, as chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute.

Ruth intends to use her position to call for a greater focus on the high level skills needed to build UK competitiveness and productivity.  She will also call on employers to take greater responsibility for the development of their management and leadership teams, so that UK organisations are better equipped to meet the conflicting demands of Generations X, Y and Z as the ‘multi-generational’ workforce becomes a reality.

Ruth will spearhead the Institute’s campaign for 50 per cent of managers to be professionally qualified by 2020.  Given research* which suggests that the ability to drive change and a capacity for innovation will be essential for business success over the next decade, she will also focus on the need for individuals and their employers to adopt a long-term view of development programmes.  It will involve calling for:

- employer commitment to the development of employee management and leadership skills and their recognition that producing higher qualified managers leads to productivity gains

- increased focus on the skills gaps going beyond basic literacy and numeracy issues

- increasing access to and broadening participation in the ‘Chartered Manager’ programme – a nationally recognised benchmark scheme which improves personal performance and boosts the bottom line.

Ruth joins the Institute from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, where she has been chief executive since January 2007.  She previously served as chief executive of Investors in People UK, HR Director for the NSPCC and a business development consultant with Coopers and Lybrand. She is a FCIPD and an OBE. 

Commenting on Ruth’s appointment, Sir John Sunderland, president of the Chartered Management Institute, says: "I am delighted that Ruth has joined us.  The current climate is one where skills development should be high on everyone’s agenda and her experience in the arena of people and professional development ensures that she is ideally placed to drive the debate forward."

William M. Banks, President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, says: "During Ruth’s time as Chief Executive of the IMechE, she worked with the Trustee Board and members to ensure that IMechE’s vision, of ‘Improving the world through engineering’, was implemented through the development of the four key themes including Education, Environment, Energy and Transport."

Commenting on her new role, Ruth says: "I am excited about the prospect of helping to shape and nurture the next generation of the UK’s leaders and managers.  There is a huge opportunity to create a positive impact that can benefit UK productivity and competitiveness."

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