Degree Apprenticeships: Tackling Challenges and Preparing for the Future

Tuesday 2 October, etc.venue, Manchester

 

An exciting and positive opportunity, degree apprenticeships are fraught with complexities and ongoing rapid changes for business schools. Featuring key national stakeholders, this event will examine degree apprenticeships’ future, looking at how they should develop and flourish, and what is needed for that to happen.

Participants will learn from other business schools’ experience through a series of detailed case studies, including the student and employer perspective. These exemplars will address expanding provision, particularly into level 7, and developing the systems and processes required to manage degree apprenticeships.

The interactive format will also enable attendees, working with experts in the field, to explore solutions to other major challenges, including those within the institution, with employer engagement, and in the regulatory and funding regimes.

Speakers at the event include:

Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director for Standards, Institute for Apprenticeships 

Until April 2017, Jonathan worked as a teacher and senior leader at a number of leading schools in Scotland and England (including a teaching exchange in the USA) for over seventeen years. His commitment to building partnerships between employers and schools, and training at national and local levels, led to his involvement in high-profile curricular and qualification development, initial teacher training and national educational conferences. In April 2017 he left teaching to join the senior leadership of the newly-formed Institute for Apprenticeships, where he supports employer groups in their creation of a national suite of apprenticeship standards that form the basis of apprenticeships and T Levels. As Deputy Director with responsibility for apprenticeship standards development, he leads a large team of Government officials working with over 2,600 employers.

Nick Cutland, Director of Product Development, Quality and Operations at ILM

Nick is Director of Quality for City & Guilds and ILM. Nick joined the City & Guilds Group in July 2016 and has worked in the vocational education sector since 2000 with roles at the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education (CACHE), Central YMCA and Lifetime Training. Nick is a passionate advocate of vocational education and training having experienced first-hand the benefits it can bring, having started as a fitness instructor and later supplementing his vocational qualifications with academic studies. By embracing education throughout his working life, Nick has been able to apply his training in the workplace, helping him have a greater impact on organisations and learners. In his current role, Nick is responsible for ensuring that City & Guilds and ILM products are of the highest quality to meet customer and market needs.

09:30     Registration

10:00     Welcome

Professor Caroline Elliott, (Chair and Facilitator) Deputy Dean, Aston Business School and Chair of the Chartered ABS Apprenticeships Working Group

10:15     Keynote presentation: Degree Apprenticeships – the challenges and opportunities

Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director for Standards, Institute for Apprenticeships

Jonathan Mitchell will deliver insights from the Institute for Apprenticeships on how the landscape of degree apprenticeships may evolve as the technical education reforms mature. This will take the form of a candid exploration of the challenges and opportunities arising from these reforms. In doing so he hopes to dispel some widespread myths and rumours; he will also aim to set out clearly the Institute’s aspirations to get the very best out of all apprenticeships (including those with a mandated degree) and out of the engagement of higher education institutions in wider technical and vocational education.

10:35     Panel discussion: The Road Ahead for Degree Apprenticeships

Nick Cutland, Director of Quality for ILM and City & Guilds

Manuela Marchetti, Head of Product, Investors In People

Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director for Standards, Institute for Apprenticeships

Our panel members will be discussing if degree apprenticeships should develop and flourish, what is needed for that to happen, and whether it is a positive development. Questions and contributions from the floor will follow.

11:25     Coffee

11:50     Case Study 1: Developing a Level 5 Apprenticeship

Dr Tim Sellick, Executive Director – Degree Apprenticeship Programmes, Henley Business School

12:25     Case Study 2: Degree Student to Degree Apprentice: SME engagement and the student journey

Dharma Kovvuri, Dean of UCLan Burnley Campus and Faculty Director of Business Development, Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise

Dr Julie Hardy, Senior Fellow in Employability and Enterprise, UCLan

13.00     Lunch

14:00     Case Study 3: Expanding into Level 7 Master’s Degree Apprenticeships

Dr Keith Schofield, Executive MBA Programme Director, Aston Business School;

Earl Hibbert, Head of Skills and Apprenticeship Development, Pertemps

14.35     Discussion in groups on how to tackle the challenges and solutions, with nominated experts working with each group

  • Tackling the challenges (i) within the institution, including sufficient resources, (ii) with employer engagement; (iii) with the regulatory regime; and (iv) with the funding regime, including the viability of fee levels
  • Developing the systems and processes required to manage degree apprenticeships

Stella McKnight, Director for Employer Partnerships, University of Winchester

Dr Amir Michael, Director of FT MBA Programme and Associate Professor, Durham University Business School

Ayesha Owusu-Barnaby, Course Director for Apprenticeships and Lecturer, London South Bank University School of Business

Lisa Rowe, Director of Business Engagement and Partnerships, University of Chester Business School

15:40     Closing remarks

16:00     Close

  • Associate Deans (Learning and Teaching) and Executive Deans;
  • Apprenticeships Leads;
  • Business Development and Engagement Directors;
  • Executive Education Directors;
  • MBA Directors

etc.venue
11 Portland Street
Manchester
M1 3HU

Other speakers and expert guests include:

  • Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director for Standards, Institute for Apprenticeships
  • Nick Cutland, Director of Product Development, Quality and Operations at ILM
  • Professor Caroline Elliott, Deputy Dean, Aston Business School
  • Manuela Marchetti, Head of Product, Investors In People
  • Dr Tim Sellick, Executive Director – Degree Apprenticeship Programmes, Henley Business School
  • Dharma Kovvuri, Dean of UCLan Burnley Campus and Faculty Director of Business Development, Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise
  • Dr Julie Hardy, Senior Fellow in Employability and Enterprise, UCLan
  • Dr Keith Schofield, Executive MBA Programme Director, Aston Business School
  • Earl Hibbert, Head of Skills and Apprenticeship Development, Pertemps
  • Stella McKnight, Director for Employer Partnerships, University of Winchester
  • Dr Amir Michael, Director of FT MBA Programme and Associate Professor, Durham University Business School
  • Ayesha Owusu-Barnaby, Course Director for Apprenticeships and Lecturer, London South Bank University School of Business
  • Lisa Rowe, Director of Business Engagement and Partnerships, University of Chester Business School

If you have any questions about the event, wish to keep informed about our workshops, or have any recommendations for how the Chartered ABS can engage with its members on apprenticeships, just get in touch with Gail Norcliffe at gail.norcliffe@charteredabs.org