Just the business

In the 1980s ambitious managers were doing MBAs in order to escape construction. Now, for the first time, there is a new kind of MBA designed specifically for the industry.

Launched this month by the Manchester Business School (MBS), the MBA for Construction Executives combines the core modules found in any MBA – organisational behaviour, financial, strategic and risk management, marketing – with modules designed specifically for construction, such as collaborative working and managing a construction firm. These modules were developed with help from CITB-ConstructionSkills. The degree is designed for contractors, engineers and architects.

But is the industry ready for a construction MBA?

Well, if it isn’t now, it never will be, says professor Graham Winch, director of the Centre for Research in the Management of Projects at MBS, and originator of the new MBA. “A number of contractors already work with established business schools to groom future leadership,” he says. “We felt this programme filled a need, not only in delivery format [mixing short residential modules with independent work and internet-enabled distance learning], but also in content.”

He believes the construction-related master’s degrees currently on offer miss out on where the industry can learn from other sectors. It’s a sensitive topic. Sir John Egan drew plenty of fire when he urged construction to adopt practices that revolutionised car making. Many objected that construction is just too different. Winch disagrees: “People are people no matter what sort of firm they work for.”

So why would a person choose a construction MBA over the more common construction-related MSc?

“MScs are usually about specialising,” he says. “If you wanted to be the world’s best cost consultant, for instance, you might want to do an MSc. An MBA takes a general view. Maybe you’re an engineer and you see your strengths as managing others design longer bridges. MBAs stress the management of firms, not projects.”

At the time of going to press, MBS wouldn’t say how many had enrolled, only that “response had been good”. It seems to have received industry backing, though. Both the RIBA and RICS are offering a scholarship worth roughly half of the £13,200 fee. The CIOB has been involved as well, fielding a senior staff member to sit on an advisory committee during the programme’s development.

So is this the degree to kick-start your career? Here’s more; MBS currently ranks 44th among MBA programmes around the world, 11th in Europe and 5th in the UK, according to the Financial Times last year.

The programme takes a minimum of 2.5 years to complete plus a six to 12 month project stage. You can take five years if your day job suddenly gets more hectic.

Doing it in the shorter time, you can expect to devote 15 hours a week to getting this MBA. That’s divided between independent work and visits to Manchester for workshops, which provide networking opportunities with academics and fellow students, who will be professionals from different countries and specialisms.

Finally, you should be at least 27, hold a first degree and have minimum of three years executive or managerial experience. MBA students tend to be an average of 34 years old.