Executive apprenticeships: CMI launches Master’s degree for business leaders

11 October 2017 -

CMI says the new qualification can help Britain improve its productivity in the wake of Brexit

Michelle Perry

This week CMI unveiled the new Master’s Degree Apprenticeship in leadership and management at a jam-packed event held at the House of Commons with around 200 employers as well as government and executive education providers.

Supported by the CMI, developed by around 30 employers and led by Serco and Civil Service Learning, the Senior Leader Master’s Degree Apprenticeship completes the suite of management apprenticeships CMI launched less than two years ago.

The new executive apprenticeship combines a Master’s degree, apprenticeship and the opportunity to gain Chartered Manager or Chartered Fellow status, and is open to all.

Petra Wilton, CMI director of strategy and external affairs, said: “This is all about collaboration, and it tackles the social mobility agenda, which is key. It’s for employers of all sizes and for those that, for whatever reason, haven’t had formal management education. It’s about opening up access.”

The latest qualification - allowing employers to use the Apprenticeship Levy to pay for executive skills development - adds to the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, which was launched in November 2015, and the team leader and operational manager apprenticeships launched in June 2016, providing a progression route for employers to invest in managers at all levels.

Among the first to take MBA-linked Master’s degree apprenticeships are managers at Aviva, who are studying through Grant Thornton UK and the Cranfield School of Management.

The introduction of the new qualification is welcome given the renewed focus on improving the skills of the British workforce in light of Brexit and amid concerns about future access to top-level international talent.

The critical nature of top roles means that not having the right management and leadership skills can lead to the ultimate failure of a business. According to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, incompetence or bad management by senior leaders causes 56% of corporate failures.

Jo Churchill MP, who hosted the event at the House of Commons, said: “The need for greater leadership cannot be underestimated. The lack of leadership costs our economy around £84bn a year in lower productivity.

“We will all have to work longer in the future. Fifty years of work is a long time. There are few of us who will be using the same skills. This [qualification] allows those that haven’t gone through a traditional route of education to take on the challenge. Some of the best leaders have been those that have come from the shop floor.”

For more information on the Senior Leader Master’s Degree Apprenticeship, visit: www.managers.org.uk/slmda or @CMI_managers