Management Qualifications

Develop your automotive management skills with
The Certificate in Automotive Retail Management (Level 5)

ARMS™ (Automotive Retail Management Standards), is designed to help businesses Increase profitability and customer satisfaction by improving management skills. ARMS™ provides a flexible way for businesses to get involved, whether incorporated into a company’s own management development provision or offered as a unique industry-specific qualification which measures and recognises the competence of managers.

The Certificate in Automotive Retail Management has been developed by leading industry stakeholders, in partnership with Automotive Skills. The qualification is awarded jointly by the Chartered Management Institute and IMI Awards. The programme covers 10 units that are fundamental to effective business planning and management within the automotive retail environment.

Structure

The Certificate covers a range of generic management competencies. It consists of 10 units. Unit 1 is assessed by a multiple choice on-line knowledge test and units 2 to 10 are assessed using practical work-based assignments relevant to the needs of your business.

Getting involved: Approved Centres

The syllabus for ARMS is available from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute) website, www.managers.org.uk.

The Certificate is delivered through IMI Awards Approved Centres (including vehicle manufacturer training divisions, retail dealership groups and specialist training providers).  For details of the centre approval process, please contact Ian Cheetham on 01992 511521 or email ianc@motor.org.uk.

IMI Awards’ centre approval process consists of a written application followed by a detailed review of quality processes by an IMI Awards’ External Verifier.  IMI Awards then carries out the external verification function for the qualification

Candidates are registered and certificated by CMI, who can be contacted at the address below:
Chartered Management Institute - Head Office
Cottingham Road
Corby
Northamptonshire
NN17 1TT
Tel: +44 (0)1536 204 222
Fax: +44 (0)1536 201 651
Email: enquiries@managers.org.uk

Please note that all registrations for the Certificate in Automotive Retail Management must be made by the end of October 2008.

Funding

Government funding may be available to assist in candidate training and development costs. Approved Centres will need to investigate opportunities directly with their local Learning and Skills Council.

For more information on Automotive Retail Management Standards (ARMS) please go to http://www.armsprofessional.org.uk/

Management NVQs (Management Standards Centre)

Level 3 is aimed at supervisor level, such as foreman, workshop supervisor, parts department supervisor and sales supervisor.

Level 4 is aimed at those with management responsibility, such as parts manager, workshop manager and sales manager, while Level 5 is for senior managers and company principals.

Supervisory Studies

The Supervisory Studies programme is for those wishing to progress into a supervisory role or for those already working at this level who wish to develop their supervisory skills.

Attainment of the Supervisory Studies leads to Associate Membership of the Institute, as long as the usual criteria of age and experience are met. The programme forms the underpinning knowledge element of the NVQ Level 3 in Management.

Automotive Management Degree

The Business School at Loughborough University is launching a new automotive management degree programme for school leavers, with the involvement of the IMI.

This BSc is open to school leavers with a minimum of two A Levels or candidates with equivalent qualifications. They will work full-time at a dealership whilst studying for a BSc (Hons) degree in Automotive Dealership Management funded by their sponsoring dealer. The degree is part-time requiring attendance at University for an average of 15 days a year during the three years, with studying and work-related assignments at the dealership. All the assignments are based around business improvement, helping the students to apply their new-found knowledge practically, bringing benefit to the dealership throughout the three-year training period.

Funding
The sponsoring dealer will fund the student’s management trainee position and also pay for their degree tuition fees. In return they will gain a full-time employee who can gain work experience in every department whilst undertaking assignments and research that bring benefits to the business. As a sponsoring organisation, the dealer would have the option of an additional two-year contractual arrangement to keep the student with them for a guaranteed five-year period.

The outcome for the student:
o A BSc(Hons) degree from Loughborough University
o No student loan
o No top-up fees
o A clear career path
o Job opportunity for at least three years

Click here to view or print the Loughborough University BSc (Hons) Automotive Dealership Management brochure (pdf)