Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire, CMI HE Partner of the Year 2024

Modern workplaces demand evolving, reflective managers who exhibit agility, efficiency and effectiveness, and the University of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Business School (HBS) – CMI’s HE Partner of the Year 2024 – has shaped its management apprenticeship programme to meet that demand. 

HBS offers leadership and management apprenticeships through a variety of employer-driven pathways. It brings together learners from diverse backgrounds to share their understanding of management and leadership practices, which, HBS says, cultivates a “global and inclusive mindset”. 

Peer-to-peer learning, reflective conversations and sharing of lived-experiences are core to the HBS approach to management and leadership education. Apprentices need to demonstrate real-life application of the knowledge, theories and tools as part of their course. HBS also promotes lifelong learning, so managers and leaders are able to build on their experience and knowledge to deliver more value for their organisations. 

Cross-apprenticeship mentoring

The business school has partnered extensively with CMI for more than 15 years across a number of courses for undergraduates, postgraduates and degree apprentices, providing qualifications at Levels 6 and 7 in management and leadership. It integrates CMI resources as part of its courses.

“We meet monthly, sharing best practice, to keep improving success in End Point Assessments,” HBS said in its awards entry. “Apprentices are individuals who require a variety of inclusive pedagogies and approaches from our progressive curriculum to upskill them back into the workplace, to lead better-managed organisations.

“We’re very proud of our long-standing partnership with CMI, so being shortlisted is a very rewarding feeling for us,” HBS added in a statement after reaching the shortlist. “CMI is the pre-eminent professional body we work with, and it has been an integral part of how we deliver our leadership and management apprenticeships.”

HBS has created a carousel of professional and personal development activities for apprentices, integrated into the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) schedule. This helps students to develop knowledge and skills beyond the academic and vocational aspects of the apprenticeship.