McKinsey Academy

From digital transformation to an aging workforce, there is a remarkable amount of change taking place in the marketplace today. McKinsey, arguably the most acclaimed management consulting firm in the world, saw a need to develop a new generation of leaders given the evolving business climate. So, the firm launched McKinsey Academy.

The above is how McKinsey would like you to interpret their activities. Our view? McKinsey wanted a piece of the $400B+ global corporate training pie.

In order to achieve this, McKinsey created McKinsey Academy to provide leadership and skills-training programs to client organizations.

What Is McKinsey Academy

Created as a new line of business within McKinsey in 2013, McKinsey Academy was launched to identify skill and capability gaps within client organizations and help them develop their employees and leadership teams.

Organizations are keenly aware that their success relies heavily on their people. In response, the firm created McKinsey Academy “to help organizations succeed at the human side of strategy — from mergers and turnarounds to digital transformation and growth.”

McKinsey Academies are designed to help build capabilities for organizations via a blended learning model. Once gaps are identified through the diagnosis phase of the McKinsey Academy methodology, clients receive a specifically designed program to help close those gaps. This program includes support – through execution – to ensure gaps are truly closed long-term. This is further proof that even pure-play strategy firms rarely do just strategy anymore.

Solutions are tailored to meet client needs, which can include bespoke curriculum for each client. McKinsey Academy refers to itself as a “talent factory,” but also allows its clients to learn from peers in similar industries.

For example, it brings together CEOs or change agents in similar businesses to help clients learn from each other. The goal is to help client companies and their people transform and succeed in a new world of digitization, automation, and disruption.

Traditional corporate training providers are starting to take notice, wondering how McKinsey Academy and other consultancy entrants into the training arena may impact their futures.

McKinsey Academy Careers

A McKinsey Academy career is a unique way to consult in an ever-changing marketplace. If you have a desire to consult with clients and/or design and implement curriculum that helps organizations upskill its people, a career at McKinsey Academy is a great place to start.

They provide broader functional opportunities than the consulting arm; you will find open positions ranging from Solution Associate to a Digital Course Production Manager. Even in the Education space, the McKinsey brand name is extremely desirable in the marketplace, and any time spent working here will provide great exit opportunities.

Other Academies

McKinsey does customize its academies to be client-specific, but also has made structured online learning platforms available. The following academies are available for client use, as well as for individuals.

McKinsey Analytics Academy

The future is now when it comes to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Organizations will need to compete in this space in order to remain viable in future decades.

The McKinsey Analytics Academy is designed to help organizations build analytics capabilities. The Analytics Academy supports leadership in this space as they learn what they must do to help their organizations remain competitive and help them scale analytics already in place.

McKinsey Venture Academy

McKinsey Venture Academy was created as a competition – a gamified way to create a social enterprise. McKinsey opened this academy to full-time students in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Winners receive seed money, mentorship and consulting assistance to get their social enterprise off the ground.

McKinsey Youth Leadership Academy

McKinsey Youth Leadership Academy is designed for undergraduate students. The Academy aids them in developing skills and acquiring experience with the use of pilot projects supported by the mentorship of industry leaders. This program encourages participants to be creative in problem solving while being exposed to how leaders solve similar issues.

McKinsey Academy Cost

McKinsey Academy’s online leadership courses will run you around $2,500. Reviews we’ve seen are positive. Those participating in the programs appreciate how they can hop online and learn when they have a few spare minutes – similar to the skill-building we offer here at Management Consulted. One reviewer stated that she felt like she could use what she learned and apply it right away on her job.

Others appreciate that there are collaborative breakout sessions where they can learn from peers. One reviewer said it was, “one of the most powerful trainings I have ever done.”

Concluding Thoughts

McKinsey Academy is the firm’s foray into the corporate training and business education space and is a natural extension of McKinsey’s more strategic engagements.

Interested in working for a practice area like McKinsey Academy but don’t know where to start? Here at Management Consulted, we offer resume editing, coaching, and more to help you land your dream role at a top consulting firm.

Additional Reading:

• McKinsey Resume
• McKinsey Careers
• McKinsey Frameworks
• McKinsey Digital
• 10 Reasons to Work for McKinsey and 6 Reasons Not to
• McKinsey Consulting Firm Profile