We define the key purpose of Management and Leadership as follows: To provide direction, gain commitment, facilitate change and achieve results through the efficient, creative and responsible deployment of people and other resources.

The standards are used by a variety of individuals and organisations in different ways.  Existing and future managers use the standards to expand their skills and knowledge of Management and Leadership, either through structured training courses, qualifications, or as a stand alone reference indicating best practice for specific subject areas.  Trainers use the standards to develop training courses and to teach accredited qualifications, whilst awarding bodies use the standards as the basis for a variety of Management and Leadership qualifications.  External stakeholders also include colleges, councils, employer organisations, HR professionals and Sector Skills Councils.

The wheel signifies the themes that the standards fall under and helps to categorise the suite of units into relevant areas of work.

A number of topics which need to be covered in the Management and Leadership National Occupational Standards are not specific to Management and Leadership – for example health and safety information.  MSC imports several of these units from other suites to avoid unnecessary duplication, clearly noting in each instance where the imported unit has come from.  The revised suite of standards has been completed incorporating units from Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK), ENTO, Institute of Customer Service (ICS) and Marketing and Sales Standards Setting Body (MSSSB).

The assessment guidance and evidence requirements for each unit can be found on the MSC website here.  The guidance and requirements have been agreed to by all management Awarding Bodies and can be accessed by all users of the standards.  In the 1997 suite of standards this information sat within each unit, but was separated in 2004 and continues to remain separate.

Within the 1997 standards, units were made up of multiple elements to distinguish sections within them.  However, during the review of the standards in 2004 it was found that many existing users of the standards felt that the multiple elements led to much duplication both within and across the standards.  The removal of the elements section has reduced the units to a more manageable size and helped reduce the problem of duplication.

During the course of the review of the standards it became clear that these units were too specialised for use by most managers. Where appropriate the areas covered by these units have been embedded into the new standards at unit level. The MSC is currently in discussion with key stakeholders to find a more appropriate home for the specialised suites of standards. For example, Lantra have now taken on ownership of the Environmental management standards.

The standards can be reproduced free of charge for educational purposes as long as commercial benefit is not intended or derived.  For example, you can use the standards within your own organisation’s training material free of charge.  However, if you are using the standards in a product which you intend to sell to a third party, you will need to obtain a licence from the MSC to do so. For details of the licence requirements, please contact the MSC team using the contact details below.

The Management Standards Centre can be contacted for further information regarding the Management and Leadership National Occupational Standards.  Our contact details are as follows:

Postal Address: 3rd Floor, 2 Savoy Court, Strand, London, WC2R 0EZ
Telephone Number: 020 7240 2826
Fax Number: 020 7240 2853
E-mail Address: management.standards@managers.org.uk