Training planned for company directors

By JANET McFARLAND
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Tuesday, March 4, 2003 - Page B15

McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada are launching a training program for corporate directors and will create a chartered director certification for graduates.

The Directors College program, to be launched this fall, aims to answer a growing demand for more professional training for those who sit on corporate boards, said Mark Schacter, who heads the conference board's governance section.

"Board performance has been identified by many players and stakeholders as a huge issue right now in this country. The question of educating directors has come up again and again. In our minds, the time is right for this initiative."

Industry professor Elliot Schreiber, who leads the project at Hamilton-based McMaster, said the curriculum is still being designed, but likely will require directors to attend four or five sessions on different subjects, each lasting two or three days. Likely subjects: finance, auditing, liability, ethics, compensation and organizational behaviour.

"It's a beginning of trying to professionalize directors and have them enhance their ability to be board members," he said.

He said demand for training comes especially from smaller and medium-sized companies, whose directors are often less experienced, and from institutional and venture capital investors, who want more basic training for inexperienced directors.

To become a chartered director, participants must pass an exam, complete a professional review period, subscribe to the Directors College code of ethics, and commit to continuing professional education. Directors can also take individual courses without completing the entire program.

Australia requires basic training for corporate directors, and some director training programs are operating in the United States. Canada previously attempted to create such training, but no comprehensive program is currently available, and there is no professional designation for directors.

Prof. Schreiber said the plan is to offer the Directors College courses in various locations across Canada to accommodate companies' needs. He said McMaster also wants to design the course in French for directors in Quebec.

Instructors will come from McMaster and the conference board, and outside experts in subjects such as law, accounting and ethics will be asked to lecture.

Mr. Schacter said current and former directors will participate to ensure training is practical, not simply academic. The conference board wants to consult with potential clients before completing the design and content of the course, he added.

He said the board does not have an exclusive agreement with McMaster, and aims to spread the program to other business schools, and to include other professional sponsors.

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