§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the(a) Investors in People Standard, (b) Management Charter Initiative, (c) Management Standards and (d) Management NVQs for SMEs; and if he will make a statement; [61549]
(2) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed into the take up of competence-based management qualifications within SMEs; [61550]
(3) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed into the link between management training and performance in SMEs. [61551]
§ Mr. MudieDfEE commissioned a three-year evaluation of the effectiveness of Investors in People which was carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies at the University of Sussex. The following reports were published: "Evaluation of Investors in People in England and Wales" (1994); "Evaluation of Investors in People in England and Wales, 1994–1995" (1995); and "The Return on Investors" (1996). All are available in the House of Commons Library. A review of the Management Charter Initiative was carried out for DfEE by DTZ Pieda Consulting and published as DfEE Research Report 67 in July 1998. It is also available in the Commons Library. Management Standards and NVQs were included in a review of all NVQs and SVQs which took place from 1996 to 1998 and identified improvements needed for SMEs which will be fed back to the relevant lead bodies and awarding bodies.
DfEE has not commissioned any research specifically into the take-up of competence-based management qualifications in SMEs, although gaining of qualifications by owner-managers of SMEs was included in a report for the Department on small firms' training needs, practices and difficulties by Professor James Curran et al. This was published in 1996 in DfEE's Research Studies series and is available in the House of Commons Library.
MCI (on behalf of DfEE and DTI) commissioned a review of research by Durham University Business School into the role of management development in the growth of high growth SMEs which was published in 1997. SMEs were also included in two research studies published by DfEE: "The business benefits of competence-based management development" by J and R Winterton (Research Studies 16, 1996) and "Evaluation of the business benefits of management development" by DTZ Pieda Consulting (Research Report 66, 1998). Both reports are in the Library.