Business school heads vow to fight axing of MBA apprenticeship

The heads of primary British business enterprise educational institutions have vowed to thwart govt options to axe the MBA apprenticeship by splitting the examine into two, with the the vast majority continue to remaining included by the instruction programme.

Apprenticeships for senior executives have mushroomed adhering to govt reforms to expertise funding that pressured businesses with annual payrolls bigger than £3m to set aside an equivalent to .5 for every cent of this sum for investing on place of work instruction strategies.

Unhappiness that levy cash had been remaining spent in this way, on programmes costing up to £18,000, prompted training secretary Gavin Williamson to seek out a critique into the MBA apprenticeship with an eye to getting rid of it from the levy system.

The Department for Schooling has not nevertheless formally scrapped the MBA apprenticeship. But in the most current list of apprenticeship standards issued by the administering agency, the requirement to obtain an MBA or other masters degree to entire a senior chief qualification has been slice.

On the other hand, David Oglethorpe, dean of Cranfield university’s faculty of management, explained to the Economical Times that his institution would keep on to supply an MBA whichever the result of the critique.

Beneath Mr Oglethorpe’s proposal, students would entire a senior chief apprenticeship and then undertake an additional piece of coursework and shell out an added price to obtain an MBA. Some students might have to shell out this demand, which could be up to £9,000, themselves but it would continue to only be a portion of the whole price.

“I have been fighting tooth and nail to say go away it as it is, but this indicates we could continue to supply the qualification,” Mr Oglethorpe said.

“The feedback we get from businesses is that it assists them entice and keep essential personnel. A fifth of our consumption arrive from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and 15 for every cent had under no circumstances been to college prior to starting up the programme.”

A fifth of our consumption arrive from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and 15 for every cent had under no circumstances been to college prior to starting up the programme

“The senior chief apprenticeship typical has been mapped on to an MBA curriculum, generating it effortless for us to supply an MBA for all those that would like a single,” Mr Oglethorpe said. “We would have to demarcate the two qualifications but that is somewhat straightforward to do.”

This way of funding an MBA has benefits, Mr Oglethorpe included. “Whilst the qualification stays component of an apprenticeship typical, you are unable to talk to personnel to contribute to the cost. If you could, it would indicate they would have skin in the sport.”

Other business enterprise faculty heads said they had been looking at equivalent preparations if the govt decided to get rid of the MBA from apprenticeships.

“The MBA is noticed as a sizeable issue on a CV so there will constantly be an incentive to supply a route to getting this by way of the apprenticeship,” John Board, dean of Henley Company School.

“The bigger danger is that the govt cuts the price tag businesses need to shell out for the apprenticeship, which would no more time make it practical for educational institutions like us to supply our class. You would then be remaining with suppliers who only shell out lip service to the standards essential for significant-excellent management instruction.”

The strategy of offering an MBA separately to the apprenticeship also acquired the backing of the Chartered Administration Institute, the accreditation overall body for management training in the British isles.

“It would set a peculiar precedent if the govt said that businesses are unable to shell out for their personnel to examine for this qualification if that is what they want to do,” Daisy Hooper, the CMI’s head of plan and community affairs, said.

“The apprenticeship levy has broadened access to the MBA. Proscribing this will transfer it back to getting an elitist qualification.”

The Department for Schooling said: “The training secretary requested the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Schooling to critique the senior chief apprenticeships typical to ensure it is conference its aims and delivers price for money. The critique is ongoing.”