Matt Scott

I am an award-winning multimedia journalist and editor specialising in data-led journalism covering the business and finance sectors. I have particular expertise in management and leadership issues, entrepreneurship, SMEs, general insurance and pensions and employee benefits and frequently write about wider business issues.
    <
    >
Professional Manager •

Have your say on the future of the new Master’s level apprenticeship

Work is underway on the launch of a revolutionary new Master’s Level Degree Apprenticeship for senior leaders looking to reinforce their management learning, as well as those looking to take the leap to director-level roles. The new apprenticeship is reinventing executive education by introducing a development programme that combines both management theory, through ongoing study for a Master’s degree, and practical application through the work-based elements of the process. The proposed scheme
Professional Manager •

A crisis of uncertainty: Young people and the workplace [New Report]

A third of 16- to 21-year-olds in the UK (32%) aren’t confident about finding a job in the next few years, according to the latest research from CMI and the EY Foundation. A lack of information about local job opportunities is an issue for 35% of young people. So what’s the answer? CMI and the EY Foundation are calling on employers and schools to back a school-to-work syllabus as part of the national curriculum, to give young people fairer access to workplace opportunities and to improve their
Professional Manager •

Putting apprenticeships to work: new recommendations

The leading think tank Policy Exchange is recommending a rethink of the government’s apprenticeship programme. The Policy Exchange paper said that the government has, thus far, focused too much on quantity over quality and should now focus on the quality of programmes available alongside its plans for creating three million new apprentices by 2020. Jonathan Simons, co-author of the report, said: “A pure focus on numbers risks undermining the credibility of the Apprenticeships programme in the
Professional Manager •

Managers lack the training they need to be successful

British businesses are struggling to find new recruits with the necessary skills, according to the latest white paper from CMI, and are then failing to train them adequately, worsening the problem. The new white paper, Skills First: Connecting employers, further education and training providers, is based on discussions from CMI’s July Learning Provider conference and found that 87% of employers report difficulties in recruiting certain key skills, and that 25% of all job openings in 2015 were l
Professional Manager •

How the apprenticeship levy will affect your business

The latest government reforms around apprenticeships are changing the way the qualifications are perceived and how they are developing careers and boosting businesses. Apprenticeships are no longer the reserve of younger workers, with the removal of an age-cap and the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy opening the door for many more British managers to benefit from enrolling on an apprenticeship scheme. CMI head of apprenticeships Alison Cox said these changes to the way apprenticeships a
Professional Manager •

How mentoring can give your career a boost

CMI has launched an online mentoring service aimed at matching mentees to mentors according to the skills, experience or sector they would like to develop. Mentoring provides an opportunity for learning, for both mentor and mentee, and elevates knowledge sharing to a practical level, helping all parties to put professional management and leadership into action. CMI mentor Philip Davies said: “The resources provided on the website are really excellent. I have used them extensively with my mente
Professional Manager •

Government unveils new apprenticeship funding as new guidance issued

CMI has welcomed the news that government will pay 90% of training costs for small businesses under new guidance on the Apprenticeship Levy, released today. The funding will cover the 98% of employers in England that are too small to pay the levy, with a total of £2.5bn of funding up to 2020 being used to support people of all ages to gain high-quality skills and experience and help employers to offer more training opportunities and build a skilled workforce. CMI director of strategy Petra Wil
Professional Manager •

CMI and Open University launch first online accredited management course

Aspiring managers now have a new way to help drive their career on to the next level. CMI and The Open University Business School have teamed up to offer a new online management course that leads to a CMI Level 5 Award in Management and Leadership – the first online course of its kind. The two-part MOOC is designed with digital-savvy managers in mind that want to give their career a boost with a professional accreditation achieved in a flexible way. Each course in the programme will take lear
REBA •

Trend update: Don’t panic! Skilled digital workers are on the way

As reward professionals stretch pay budgets to attract rare digital talent, they'll be pleased to read of a 44% increase in applications to study digital skills at university. But it will not be plain sailing, says REBA's tame actuary, Matt Scott. A digital revolution is well underway, but the existing workforce is not up to the challenge. The media may be full of stories about Silicon Valley unicorns and tech entrepreneurs dressed in torn jeans and faded t-shirts, but that doesn’t reflect
Professional Manager •

Government gives green light to new management apprenticeships

Government approval for two new management and leadership trailblazer apprenticeships will give employers a greater choice of schemes to invest in developing its established and next generation of managers. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) gave the go-ahead for the new apprenticeships, which cover professional qualifications aimed at new team leader and operations manager roles. According to UKCES data, nearly 200,000 new management roles need to be filled every year, bu
Professional Manager •

Number of young people not in education or employment is on the up

The number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) totalled 865,000 between January and March 2016, equivalent to 12% of the total population of young people (aged 16 to 24) in the UK. The latest figures from Office for National Statistics (ONS) represent a 0.1 percentage point increase on the last three months of 2015, but is 0.8 percentage points lower than the same period last year. This figure peaked at just under 17% in the second half of 2011, but has started to
Professional Manager •

Government pledges £10m to promote Degree Apprenticeships

Degree apprenticeships are set to receive £10m in additional funding under plans announced today by business secretary Sajid Javid. The funds, which will be distributed over the course of the next two years, will provide £4m a year to universities looking to design and develop degree apprenticeships. A further £1m annually will be used to promote degree apprenticeships among students. Speaking at Manchester Metropolitan University after meeting degree apprentices, Javid said: “We launched deg
Professional Manager •

Want to boost productivity, Chancellor? Hire an apprentice

British productivity is in the doldrums. The gap in productivity between UK Plc and other world economic powers is at its worst level since modern records began, with British output per hour worked 18 percentage points below the average for the six other members of the G7. And with nearly a third (31%) of workers employed in a job that doesn’t match their level of education, the mismatch between workers’ education and current job is at the heart of the problem.
Professional Manager •

How apprenticeships are helping businesses grow [New Research]

Organisations that employ apprentices are more than five times more likely to rapidly expand their business than those that don’t have apprenticeship initiatives. That’s the headline findings of new research from the Skills Funding Agency for National Apprenticeships Week 2016. The survey of 3,989 employees found that 18% of line managers expect their company to grow rapidly over the coming months rising to 25% for apprentice line managers. For line managers who did not have apprentices, this f
Professional Manager •

Parents call on businesses to do more to support apprenticeships

Parents want businesses to do more to support apprentices according to new research from CMI. The survey of 1,003 parents found that just 16% think employers are doing enough to provide apprenticeships, and 72% support the Apprenticeship Levy first announced by Chancellor George Osborne in last year’s Autumn Statement. In a separate survey of CMI members, two in three managers (67%) also backed plans for the Levy, with only 9% opposing the idea. The findings were presented to an audience of l
Professional Manager •

Apprenticeship Levy needs urgent clarity

CMI is calling for clarity on the Apprenticeship Levy as Chancellor George Osborne fails to give further details on the proposed funding for the next generation of apprenticeships in today’s Budget. The levy was conspicuous by its absence in Osborne’s speech, but a separate announcement did reveal the government will apply a 10% top-up to monthly levy payments from April 2017. CMI director of external affairs Petra Wilton said: “The 10% top up on the Apprenticeship Levy means businesses get mo
Load More Articles

Subscribe to get sent a digest of new articles by Matt Scott

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

One-click unsubscribe anytime, your email will not be used for anything else.