Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

This paper reports on the preliminary findings on an ongoing study in the area of management development and training in Kenya's private sector. It begins with an assessment of the quantitative and qualitative current and projected demand for various categories of managerial skills and the extent to which current kenyanization policies and training programmes effectively address themselves to these needs. An identification of the more important managerial skill deficiencies among Kenyan managers is also made and used as basis for discussing the relevancy of current management development and training programmes and methodologies in eliminating these deficiencies. The need for trainers to provide professional assistance for the organizations and individual trainees to identify training needs and reformulate more realistic expectations from management development programmes is also stressed.