Senior Leader Apprenticeship

Senior Leader Apprenticeship is an exciting work based route towards developing professionally competent senior managers and leaders
Business meeting management leadership
Register your place

Information sessions

We have a range of information sessions that you can attend to find out more information about this apprenticeship.
  • 24th March at 11:00am
  • 19th May at 11:30am
If you have an enquiry about any of the apprenticeships at the University of Plymouth, please complete the below form.
Enquiry form
You can also call us on +44 1752 583625
Office hours are Monday–Friday, 08:30–16:30

How to apply

The potential apprentice will be required to complete an online application form with the support of their employer and the University to ensure the Apprenticeship programme is an appropriate solution to their skills development needs. On completion of the online application form the University will assess the information provided and determine the next steps.
The employer must request the expression of interest form by emailing apprenticeships@plymouth.ac.uk.
Applications for September 2025 are open.
Deadline to apply is 30 June 2025
For more information or to express your interest please complete our online enquiry form.

Fees

The total cost of the Senior Leader masters Degree Apprenticeship – Level 7 is:
£14,000

Funding

There are currently two funding models:
  • Fully-funded: Levy paying organisations
If the annual pay bill of your organisation exceeds £3 million you will pay for your apprenticeship training through your levy account.
  • Co-funded: Non-levy organisations (the annual pay bill of your organisation is less than £3 million) and levy paying organisations who have exceeded their levy contribution.
The government will financially co-support your apprenticeship training contributing 95% of the total cost. The employer will contribute and be invoiced for the remaining 5% of the total cost.
For more information about apprenticeship levy please visit the gov.uk website.
If you need any further information about the fees and/or funding for this apprenticeship please do not hesitate to contact us at apprenticeship@plymouth.ac.uk or call +44 1752 583625.

Year 1:

Organisational Leadership and Strategy: This module will provide apprentices with the knowledge and skills associated with the theory and practice of leadership, management, organisation and strategy. Apprentices will gain a critically informed perspective that enables them to align organisational goals with team performance, creating a diverse and sustainable work-place culture.
Emotion with reason: effective decision making: This module is designed to advance knowledge, understanding and skills for making decisions in workplace situations using evidence based practice. It will facilitate apprentices to take a critical exploration of their own context and evaluate different collaborative approaches involving stakeholders and team members in the decision making process.
Specialisms: Shaping the Environment: building a culture of sustainable relationships OR Shaping the Healthcare Environment: collaborating for shared success: This module is designed to advance knowledge and understanding of how strategy informs personal and operational growth and its symbiotic relationship with the wider working community. Apprentices will advance their leadership skills in influencing teams to build sustainable and inclusive working environments where a culture of team confidence and trust is an embedded ethos.

Year 2:

Innovation and Enterprise: Inspiring change: This module will focus on how leaders fit into organisational communities and influence organisational environments to foster innovative/enterprising activities or behaviours. The relationships between enterprising activity, well-being and corporate social responsibility are examined, and consideration given to how opportunities are identified and how risk enablement facilitates improved organisational performance.
From evidence to design: leading projects: This module uses a work-based learning educational approach which employs apprentices with the opportunity to bring theory and reality together using knowledge, individual learning and practice experience to inspire change and potential growth to the workplace environment. Apprentices will be equipped with the tools to lead, focused enquiry and to critique organisational historical project design within their organisation.
Living project specialisms: Embedding leadership through practice change OR Embedding Healthcare Leadership in Practice: This module is the final synoptic culmination of the programme which is designed to enable apprentices to inspire, implement and evaluate an innovative leadership project under supervision, and to demonstrate project development, delivery and evaluation skills.

Assessment methods

A variety of assessment methods are used throughout the programme to enable the students to achieve the learning outcomes for each module. This approach illustrated below contributes to achieving an inclusive and equitable assessment strategy.
  • Coursework
  • Reports
  • Reflective writing/blogs
  • Professional Development Profile
  • Peer Observation of Practice
  • Portfolio
  • Graphic visual representations of knowledge, information and data
  • An observation including viva and professional presentation which form the End Point Assessment (EPA).
The Senior Leader Apprenticeship is an exciting work based route towards developing professionally competent senior managers and leaders. The Senior Leader Apprenticeship provides you with the skills, knowledge and behaviours to become a professional leader of the future.
Accelerate your career progression and have the skills, knowledge and confidence to go into senior management and leadership positions in roles such as chief executive, general manager or finance director.
Who is the course for?
It is designed for any individual moving into a senior or strategic management role. This can include General Managers, Senior Managers, Section Leaders, Executives, Directors, CFO, CEO, CIO roles, and senior military officers.
Responsibilities
A strategic leader with senior management responsibility, which may include formal governance/director responsibilities. Responsible for setting strategy, direction and vision, for providing a clear sense of purpose and driving strategic intent.
The programme includes:
  • Senior Leader Higher Apprenticeship.
  • MBA in Leadership or Leadership in Healthcare (included at no extra cost to the apprenticeship funding band).
  • CMI L7 Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership Practice.
  • Work-based learning which means that the apprentice is in paid employment for the duration of their apprenticeship and receives on the job training and support leading to a relevant masters degree in leadership.
  • Study collaboratively with peers from other industries, allowing you to gain a wider knowledge base and experience.
  • Develop leadership, management and innovative capabilities and build expertise in key business areas such as effective decision making, leading projects, business strategy and inspiring change.
  • Through the above apprentices will acquire the knowledge and skills and prepare for the End Point Assessment with the opportunity to gain Chartered Manager Status (CMgr).
  • CMI Membership throughout the duration of the programme, access to the CMI’s Management Direct as well as the Universities own research bank.
  • Support from Associate Lecturers who are specialists in their industry, they will work with candidates to contextualise the theoretical study and build a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate occupational competency.

Areas of specialism

  • @Leadership in healthcare

  • @Apply your personal industry specialism to the learning content

  • @Support the embedding of this specialism throughout the programme

Course facts:

Duration: 24 months plus EPA
Hours of study per week: 20% of your contracted working hours released from work to undertake study. As a guide, apprentices should also expect to study for an additional 8 hours per week. Employers are expected to support their apprentice's study by providing a workplace mentor and supporting meetings and assessments
Delivery type: Blended– predominantly on-line with three on campus face to face days across the two years of study.
Entry requirements: All applicants need to be employed by an organisation who will support the individual’s participation in the programme. Applicants require: A degree at 2:2 or above (or equivalent, including professional qualifications) OR significant management experience and a strong track record of achievements in business and/or relevant professional qualifications.
Human resources

Core skills – organisational performance

  • ?Strategy

  • ? Innovation and change

  • ?Enterprise and risk

  • ?Decision making

  • ?Project management

  • ?Shaping the environment

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Benefits to the business

  • Maintain or improve current skills within your organisation.
  • Develop your own workforce.
  • Improve staff retention rates.
  • Flexible delivery of theoretical teaching.
  • Receive a skills injection to future proof your business.
  • Address strategic needs of the business through focused learning.

Core skills – interpersonal excellence

  • ?Engaging employees

  • ?Leading and developing

  • ?People leading and developing people

  • ?Building collaborative relationships

Benefits to the apprentice

  • Undertake learning in a flexible format.
  • Learn from staff and guest speakers with research and consultancy experience, and links with industry.
  • Work on an applied project to deliver practical value for your own organisation by analysing a challenge or opportunity and providing useful recommendations.
  • Use your Applied Learning Portfolio to demonstrate how you’re applying new knowledge and behaviours in a work-based context.
  • Have access to a vast selection of electronic resources, which are available 24/7.
  • Confidence to apply the learning from your theoretical study directly into real live working situations.
Business meeting leadership management

Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship Staff