- Strong support for new interim Chartered award across consultancy sector to aid talent retention and enhance training and development
- New award must demonstrate minimum 3 years of experience
- First Associate Chartered Management Consultant awarded to Arcadis’s Ayrton Dhillon
Over one hundred young consultants have signed up to the new Associate Chartered Management Consultant Award which has been launched to the market. Following popular demand from young consultants, a new interim award has been developed for those on the journey to becoming fully Chartered. This new award for young consultants is aimed at giving professionals greater recognition earlier on in their career and is for consultants who can demonstrate a minimum of 3 years’ experience in management consulting. The new Associate Award will provide added value and recognition for individuals on an accredited programme which takes 5 years to complete.
Seven leading consulting firms have already adopted the new Associate Award and the first round of candidates are currently completing their independent assessments. The first individual to successfully complete the assessment was Ayrton Dhillon from Arcadis. It comes as the recent MCA Annual Industry Report 2022 revealed that the average number of training days for employees in the consulting sector had increased by 25%, from 6.3 to 7.9 days.
Developed by the CMI and the MCA, the new Associate Award will aid talent retention and maintain motivation of individuals on the journey to Chartered status. The ChMC Award is the highest recognition of a management consultant’s expertise, experience and ability given within the profession. Associate ChMC is an optional and independent assessment which has been designed to mirror the ChMC assessment and can be applied for after three years in the profession, rather than five.
To date, over 600 consultants have been awarded Chartered Status with more than 4,000 currently on the journey and over 50 firms engaged on ChMC accreditation. Accredited firms range in size from larger firms such as PwC, EY, KPMG and IBM Consulting, Arup and Moorhouse to smaller firms including PPL and Akeso and Co.
Ayrton Dhillon, a senior consultant with Arcadis, is the first person to receive the Associate Award.
Ayrton said:“A lot of my role models within Arcadis and the wider industry have gone on their journey to chartership so for me this was a way of echoing the steps of those mentors and role models. It was that seal of quality.
“Management Consulting is one of those industries where it is fantastic just to get more clarity about the role. The chartership has helped me understand what it means to be a good management consultant and given me a framework through which I can develop.”
For Ayrton the opportunity to apply for the Associated Award came at just the right time and he knows whom the award is perfect for.
He added: “People who have got a feel for management consulting but who are asking themselves ‘what kind of management consultant do I want to be?’ I found it really valuable, not just on judging my progress to date but also where I want to go.”
Young MCA Chair, and Senior Consultant at EY, Hassan Kamara added:
“The introduction of the Associate Chartered Management Consultant accreditation and the commitment from some of the industry’s leading firms to provide the Chartered opportunity to consulting graduates will play an important part in developing future skills and talent for the profession.”
Ann Francke OBE, Chief Executive of the CMI, said:
“We are delighted to see both the progress made in raising awareness of the award and the appetite to get Chartered amongst the management consultancy community. All of us at CMI are proud to work in partnership with the MCA in delivering ChMC and helping to drive up standards across the sector. We look forward to a bright future ahead for the award and its positive impact in creating recognised professional pathways for management consultants.”
Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the MCA, said:
“Associate is an important evolution of the Chartered Award. We founded chartered to satisfy the demand for a recognition of talent, achievement and experience in the profession and to raise standards across the sector.
“It has already established itself as the most prestigious award in the profession and Associate allows younger consultants important recognition on their Chartered journey.”
Recently, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) held a drop-in information session, which provided candidates and prospective candidates on the programme to ask questions.
More information about the Associate Award and the Chartered Management Consultant Award (ChMC) can be found at https://bit.ly/3wDlZDu.
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