Management schools and industrial training: The changing role of the technical colleges

Time was — and not so long ago either — when the function of the technical college in the management field was to lay on a collection of courses carried out wholly within the college. It was as though the college decided, autocratically and independently, on a programme of courses which it placed in its shop window and then waited for customers to turn up and buy. This system failed for the simple reason that it didn't work although in too many colleges this attitude still survives. Now a revolution is under way: the colleges are finding a new role. It is one based on the consultancy principle leading to a close relationship between college and firm out of which grows a meaningful and relevant joint training exercise. This form of co‐operation is available to any firm that wishes to engage in it. For those firms anxious to develop good management training but lacking the expertise to carry it out here is a way in: help is close at hand. Perhaps most important of all in this article is the explanation of how a college can help to reveal true training needs at the management level.