Investigating the Effectiveness of Management Trainee Programs in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Industry in China

The research examines the factors influencing the overall effectiveness of management trainee (MT) programs in the career progress of trainees and evaluates the suitability of MT programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry in China. The study identifies perceived leadership training, perceived mentor support and perceived job rotation as the key variables affecting overall program effectiveness. Using a sample of 400 FMCG employees who have participated in MT programs and data collected via online questionnaires, the study conducted a comprehensive analysis employing correlation and regression techniques to determine the significance and impact of the key variables. The results revealed that, perceived leadership training, perceived mentors support and perceived job rotation all have positive and significant impacts on overall program effectiveness. Furthermore, the positive coefficient levels and strong statistical significance indicated that, the key variables, considerably enhances career progression of trainees and also make MT programs suitable and beneficial for SMEs in the Chinese FMCG industry.