Organisations are failing to offer sufficient career development and training opportunities to managers, which is leading to increased recruitment and retention problems.

Research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute show that although 74 per cent of individuals believe management qualifications are becoming more important, over half of organisations admit they offer little in the way of career development or training.

Further findings show that 81 per cent of employers are experiencing recruitment problems, a fourfold increase since 2002, and 78 per cent believe retention has become increasingly difficult.

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, said that feedback from individual managers provides the clearest indication that pay is not their major motivator.

“[Managers] want employers to show commitment in the shape of ongoing professional development and, if organisations are serious about retaining the best talent, they urgently need to meet these needs. Failure to do so will, in the short-term, ensure the top talent leaves. In the long-term it will mean that a solution to the skills crisis will be no nearer reality than it is today.”

The findings come at the same time as a new TUC report,‘Time to tackle the training divide’, which show that over a third of UK employers (35 per cent) fail to offer their staff any training at work, and state that this is a key reason why the UK has such a long way to go before it has a highly-skilled workforce.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The government needs to get tough with employers who believe that training at work need not be something that concerns them. If the government’s skills pledge is going to change employer attitudes to training, ministers need to convince reluctant bosses of the urgent need to train their low and unskilled employees.”