The opening of the controversial second runway and the acquisition of major shareholdings in regional airports in Humberside, East Midlands and Bournemouth confirm the go-ahead approach adopted by this massive enterprise, jointly owned by a consortium of local authorities headed by Manchester City Council. Its targets for the next 15 years are impressive - more than double the number of passengers to 40 million a year and a recognition that the key to this success is the quality of the people it employs. With airport staffing now at more than 17,000, the projection is for job creation to reach around 68,000 on site and in the region by 2015 - effective management is therefore a non-negotiable ingredient.

Enter NEBS Management and Stockport College Business School - or more specifically its Total Training Solutions unit which concentrates on corporate clients - and the result is the airport's Millennium Challenge partnership designed to help train the management team to deliver these high level objectives over coming years.

The existing level of competence is confirmed by the fact that the airport looked to the Introductory Diploma and Diploma to provide the qualifications needed for future development. And the method of delivery in such a high-tech environment inevitably included one of NEBS Management's latest products - the Universal Manager, a flexible resource incorporating printed, CD-ROM and on-line learning resources.

The Manchester Airport team involved in this programme is an eclectic mixture of youth and experience - each acknowledging the strengths of the other and able to share good practices and ideas.

Anne Drinkwater, who works with Stockport Business School head Sally Palmer to deliver the residential elements of the programmes, also acts as the principal day to day contact with the airport.

"The first group of nearly twenty completed the Introductory Diploma last year and have gone on to the Diploma this year, with a similar number due to start the Intro in the autumn, said Anne. "They cover a wide range of age and experience but all realise the value of training as qualifications such as these are becoming increasingly important when it comes to promotion prospects."

Nigel Wickenden, airport security deputy supervisor, commented: "I'd done another supervisory management course about 11 years ago so I had something of a head start when it came to studying for the Introductory Diploma. However, some of the 'non studiers' found it tough at first but the course material put them at their ease and they soon got into the swing of things, especially when they learned to pace themselves in line with deadlines.

"Now I'm on the Diploma programme it's into more intense detail but a great and satisfying challenge."

Stockport College course co-ordinator Anne Drinkwater with airport security deputy supervisor Nigel Wickenden.

Airport staff provide the in-house input for the Introductory Diploma with support from Anne on PDP workshops and tutorials, presentations and assignments. She also has a watching brief to ensure that business school and NEBS Management standards are maintained. For the full Diploma, all the teaching, assessment and tutor support is provided by Stockport College. The team includes an MBA and an industrial psychologist leading up to 12 workshops and tutorial sessions based at the airport's extensively resourced Ringway Suite Training Centre at the heart of Terminal 2.

Anne has wide experience of NEBS Management programmes and their flexible approach to learning. The Universal Manager resources provided even more opportunities.

"The Universal Manager assignments are linked to the learning outcomes so you can do your coverage and know which NVQs you're linking to. And of course the assignments are all up to date and relevant to current management experience and needs. In all it's a superb tool both for the well-structured, ready made assignments and the mapping exercises to focus on appropriate areas," said Anne.

"The latest session's reading list now includes the Universal Manager website and its links to dossier information. The value of this additional on-line resource is becoming increasingly appreciated by those on the programme as their learning experiences widen. Although some people on the course have studied up to degree level, many are returning to learning after many years and initially have to rely on their experience alone."

Top favourite titles so far have included 21st Century Communications, Delivering Successful Projects and Human Resource Planning, all with their linked personal development plans.

Market analyst Richard Hill and other members of his team provide the interface between the airport and the vast array of companies looking for retail concessions in the three terminals. "We need to look extremely carefully at what these companies can offer our passengers and if we have the demographic mix to meet these needs. The latest craze is Internet machines - they're like a photo booths but we have to took at how these could possibly conflict with other concessions in the same area which include things like food and drink and travel value - the new name for duty free."

Richard joined the airport as a trainee and was sponsored on a business studies course at Manchester University - the Introductory Diploma was a natural progression along the road to further promotion.

"One of the main attractions for me was to have lectures from colleagues - our own managers who relate their knowledge to our everyday business," said Richard. "Add to this the theory brought by Anne Drinkwater and her colleagues from the college and you have the perfect combination. The airport has already recognised the NEBS Management qualification as a desirable criterion for promotion. Our public sector links limit things like borrowing powers but the way we're managed as a business is very 'hands off'."

"At university, one of the main benefits was the opportunity to compare the experiences of people from different industries but this was also mirrored during the Introductory Diploma programme which brought together people from airport departments you'd be very unlikely to meet in normal circumstances".

"The airport is always looking to develop managers for the future and the NEBS Management programmes give them a really good grounding as well as a recognised qualification. Managers are now realising the benefits and selection for future programmes is likely to be more structured and competitive, based on the needs of particular departments," said Karen.

"We've had excellent feedback from the people who've been on the courses - we've seen them grow in self esteem, which is important when they apply for the many promotion opportunities at the airport."

"As well as this immediate feedback, we also review how people progress in their current roles - and how many qualify for promotion. In fact involvement in the Millennium Challenge is mentioned as a desirable criterion for candidates on internal job vacancies."

"It's also refreshing to know that age is no bar as far as the airport is concerned," said Anne Drinkwater. "Individual development plans for some of those in their late 50's show that many want to focus on their experience and test out their abilities, especially those who've been in the same role for a number of years. They want to prove that they can go back to some kind of academic work and achieve something worthwhile. It can give them great personal satisfaction."

One way of testing management capabilities at the airport is through the two-day Icarus computer program. This gives participants the chance to make decisions affecting the running of an airport over, say, a five year period. Variables cover everything from finance and marketing to staff numbers and building programmes. So far it's used largely by existing senior managers, but Introductory Diploma and Diploma students have performed impressively.

External verifier David Draper has been involved with NEBS Management for more than 30 years during a career which has put him at the forefront of IT development from its earliest days - a particularly appropriate background for the Universal Manager.

"Manchester Airport regards the NEBS Management Diploma as the Gold Standard of management training and one which will play a major role in developing the organisation as it makes a quantum leap over the next 15 years, said David. "The beauty is that the candidates are not only learning from the experience but are genuinely applying the knowledge and lessons learned in their everyday jobs - a valuable principle when it comes to meeting the unavoidable challenge of change.

"I always look forward to the day when programme participants make much greater use of new technology. Managers of the future will be working in an environment which is radically different from that of their fathers."

AUTUMN 2001 PROGRESS