News
Jacobs high flyers scoop awards at Aston Business School
01/02/08
High-flyers at a global engineering giant have completed business management courses in Birmingham.
Jacobs bosses hailed the specially tailored Executive Education programme at Aston Business School as a huge success.
It has given delegates a much greater understanding of the business and an array of skills to equip them to drive their careers – and the company - forward.
The bespoke training and management programmes have given an additional benefit of reducing the turnover of key staff.
Around 50 delegates attended a presentation dinner at Aston Business School’s Lakeside Conference Centre in Birmingham, including Jacobs’s senior Vice President Bob Duff.
Around 20 of the firm’s employees gained the Certificate after a year of study. A further 15 achieved the Diploma after a second year of study.
Course Director Matt Davies said tailoring individual courses to the client’s needs was vital for its success.
“The content of the course changes to reflect any developments with Jacobs.
“If we are not tailoring what we do for the client’s needs then we have no way of meeting their expectations.”
He added: “We do see great enthusiasm because they have to go through quite a rigorous process to get into the course.
“It is a genuine and highly successful partnership and in many ways a great model for how these types of courses should be run.”
Jacobs has 52,000 employees worldwide, with 8,000 based in the UK.
Senior Vice President Bob Duff said: “The course has expanded and evolved over the years and it is a very important part of our employee development,” he said.
“This is the only course of its type in the company and it is great that it’s tailored to our needs.”
He added: “We chose Aston in competition with other business schools and we continue to evolve the course so it is a good partnership.
“We are tremendously proud of these graduates and we appreciate how many hours they have given up of their own time to complete it.”
Andy Burton, a 37-year-old divisional director from Sussex, has just completed the diploma. He has been with the firm for eight years.
“The level of commitment required to meet the challenges of the course is very high.
“It has helped me to understand the background of why Jacobs is successful, learn about economic theory and build my confidence in company discussions.”
For more information on Aston Business School Executive Education please contact Clive on 01543 501111