MANAGEMENT training and development has almost doubled in British companies during the past 10 years.

A new report out today says recognition of the importance of management development and a well-trained workforce has increased significantly - and the trend is set to continue.

Over the past decade the amount of training undertaken by managers has increased from 3.1 days a year to 5.5 days annually.

Ninety per cent of organisations now report some form of management training and development compared with only 69 per cent 10 years ago.

The findings are in a report launched by the Institute of Management and the Open University Business School.

More than four in 10 organisations now put their managers' training as a high priority and it is expected to increase to more than seven in 10 in the foreseeable future.

The three factors said to have had most impact on the decision to increase management training are external influences such as Investors in People (20 per cent), organisational growth (17 per cent) and cultural change (16 per cent).

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