Twenty-two people started the Graduate Certificate in Management Practice - the maximum number for the year-long course and the highest number of candidates since it was established in 2008.

The Certificate course, which is run in conjunction with Edinburgh Napier University, is now widely recognised as a valuable career progression for ambitious candidates within the electrical industry.

And once again this year, all of the students have been put forward by Scotland’s larger companies, an indication that bigger organisations are regarding the Certificate course as an integral part of their management training programmes.

The course runs throughout the academic year and includes university attendance as well as project work. It is now seen as a pathway to senior promoted posts or even further academic qualifications such as an MBA.

Edinburgh Napier University, an innovative professional further education body which delivers highly employable graduates, relevant research and impactful business solutions, is offering the SELECT students further flexible managed programme degree courses and even post-graduate courses.

All of the students starting this year’s course have already achieved qualifications at SVQ Level three or above and will have spent at least a year within a supervisory management role within their companies.

Elaine Ellis, training manager at SELECT, said: “Our students this year come from all over Scotland and represent the considerable diversity of the electrotechnical industry, in that they are from both sexes and their age ranges and skill sets vary widely.

“Of course, we have electricians and very highly qualified technicians, but we also have attracted people from within the administrative and personnel side of the sector.

“The Graduate Certificate is an excellent vehicle which allows them to gain an insight into management practices and progress into managerial roles such as project management, site management or estimating.

“It also creates a learning framework which, for some candidates, can provide access to other post-graduate courses, up to and including the master of business administration, which is key to many senior posts.”

SELECT’s courses have gained a strong reputation within the construction sector in Scotland, because they are relevant, practical and based on the experience of some of the foremost experts in the field.