In a time when there is stiff competition for jobs, a qualification in management can help you to stand out from the crowd. But for many people, it’s just not practical to up and leave a perfectly good–and paid–job to spend money on studying.

That’s where distance learning comes in.

If you can keep on earning while you’re learning, you get the best of both worlds. You continue to make money to pay the mortgage and put food on the table, while improving your knowledge and skill set to help you to get that promotion or change careers.

At NEC we offer management qualifications accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). CMI are the UK’s only chartered management membership organisation. We chose to work with CMI to offer these qualifications because of the progressive range of qualifications that they offer, in addition to the excellent reputation and membership benefits.

The CMI website gives some reasons they think a management qualification is worthwhile based on some recent research. For example:

• 78% of employers agreed that qualifications provide quality assurance for customers and that the benefits outweighed the time, money and effort invested in obtaining them.
• More than 80% of managers say that taking a management qualification has resulted in increased professional recognition, with most stating that employers prefer qualified managers when recruiting.

One of the benefits of studying a CMI management course by distance learning with NEC is the tutor support. Your personal tutor will be an experienced subject expert and will not only mark your CMI assignments, but will mark and give you comprehensive feedback on practice assignments too. These are designed to give you the best possible chance of success. They are also there if you need guidance while you work your way through the course.

We asked NEC tutor Kevin this question: Is distance learning the way to go for management qualifications?

This is what he said: ‘For many students the answer is ‘yes’. It is not hard to see the appeal of an online professional qualification, cheaper fees, and the opportunity to juggle studies with work and for some the company will sponsor a managerial qualification. The online CMI course also attracts offender learners who want to develop their skills and knowledge in preparation for future careers. Off-campus is their only option.

‘Studying remotely can help you stay in education, satisfy your need for personal development and broaden your opportunities.

‘For many students CMI courses play a key part in becoming a professional manager, developing new skills and knowledge to help their teams and organisations improve their performance. Employers are actively looking for recognised qualifications on CVs, but only 1 in 5 managers have a recognised management qualification.

‘If you are looking for a challenging course that will help progress your career, look no further than CMI qualifications with NEC.’

If you would like to find out more about enrolling on a CMI management course with NEC, visit our course pages or get in touch with our course advice team who will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You can also leave us a comment below, or talk to us via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.