Marking National Apprenticeship Week at Cranfield School of Management

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, 7 – 13 February 2022, we thought we would take the opportunity to celebrate the successes of Cranfield apprentices and highlight how our apprenticeship programmes can benefit you and your company.

An apprenticeship is a great way to develop skills, gain on-the-job training and get a head start in a particular profession. Here at Cranfield, we provide higher apprenticeship programmes (Level 7) for recent undergraduates and established professionals who want to take the next step in their careers.

What is an Apprenticeship?

Through an apprenticeship, you gain the technical knowledge, practical experience and wider skills needed for your immediate job and future career. You gain this through a wide mix of learning in the workplace, formal off-the-job training and the opportunity to practice new skills in a real work environment. Members of staff can access development through apprenticeship standards if their job role requires them to learn new skills.

In a higher apprenticeship programme like at Cranfield, apprentices complete an assessment at the end of a structured programme, which tests both academic learning and occupational competence developed through on-the-job training. The programme can be structured in a number of ways but generally, the employers, training providers, and professional bodies come together to co-design a fully-integrated course to meet their individual needs.

This form of development and learning is becoming ever more popular with both employers and employees. In 2019/20, there were 271,890 apprenticeship starts – 66,730 of these were higher apprenticeships at either Bachelors (Level 6) or Masters (Level 7) degree level. (Prospects.ac.uk)

Cranfield Postgraduate Apprenticeship Programmes

Cranfield University is the most experienced provider of the Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship. Our specialist apprenticeship team ensure you achieve maximum return on investment, providing a training route that equips your staff to fulfil their potential as leaders in your organisation. Should you need specialist technical learning embedding in your programme, we can show you how to achieve this.

We offer apprenticeship programmes in Senior Leadership, Retail and Digital Banking, and Sustainability. In affiliation with partners such as Grant Thornton, HSBC and Metro Bank, we provide apprenticeship programmes to further develop your skills and provide hands-on experience. Our programmes can take anywhere from 12 months to 3 years to complete.

Our postgraduate apprenticeship programmes have been incredibly successful and beneficial for both our students and partners since we launched them in 2017.

Not only is an apprenticeship programme beneficial to staff and graduates, it is also equally beneficial for employers and businesses.

By offering an Apprenticeship programme, your company will:

• Attract and retain talent through a compelling suite of programmes.
• Have a skills injection to futureproof your business.
• Address strategic needs of the business through focused learning.
• Contribute to the UK labour force and economy.

Our triple-accredited and globally ranked school has supported over 1,500 apprentices since we launched our portfolio in 2017. We currently have 1,000 apprentices across 30 cohorts attending our programmes. Our apprentices have achieved exceptional pass rates, with a first attempt pass rate of 98% and 100% success overall, with over 80% achieving merit/distinction.