2024/25 entry Applications also open for 2025/26
COPD Senior Leader Apprenticeship - Business Administration Scale Up
About this course
This Senior Leader Apprenticeship programme provides you with the knowledge, skills and capabilities required to scale up a business.
- Enhance your business or contribute to organisational growth by learning researched scale up approaches
- A suitable developmental opportunity for staff members who perhaps are looking for that ‘next step’ in their personal and/or professional development.
- The programme is viewed by some organisations as part of investing in / retaining talent as part of their succession strategy in scaling-up the business.
- Many organisations are unaware there is the apprentice option by drawing down on the apprenticeship levy –also an option to non-levy payers).
- All module activities and assessment are directly related to work-based context, so the organisation and employee benefit from academic research and learning.
What is scale up?
A 'scale-up' is an enterprise that has experienced significant growth rates in employees and turnover over a number of years. Nationally, scale-up businesses have been identified as a priority area, recognised by the appointment of a scale up champion in Government who aims to increase the number of businesses maximising opportunities to reach their growth potential. This will feed into the Government's industrial strategy.
This Senior Leaders Apprenticeship (SLA) is designed to transform participants into confident business professionals capable of scaling up a business. It focuses on the key areas a business would need to investigate in order to assess scale up potential. The course combines key management disciplines from the key QAA and CMI benchmark statements with recent national research on the drivers of business scale up.
What is the apprenticeship levy?
The government has introduced a levy on larger employers to fund apprenticeships. If your company’s wage bill is over £3 million your company will pay the apprenticeship levy of 0.5%.
If your company is paying the apprenticeship levy (see details below), you can use these funds to cover Degree Apprenticeships.
Both levy and non-levy paying employers can benefit from additional payments to support their apprentices in the workplace.
Fees and funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students
Fees
The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:
- library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
- access to programme-appropriate software
- library and student IT support
- free on-campus wifi via eduroam
Additional costs
Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:
- accommodation and living expenditure
- books (should you wish to have your own copies)
- printing, photocopying and stationery
- PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
- mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
- field trips (travel and activity costs)
- placements (travel expenses and living costs)
- student visas (international students only)
- study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
- academic conferences (travel costs)
- professional-body membership
- graduation (gown hire etc)
Funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.
Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.
Degree Apprenticeships are funded courses, with learning costs being paid to the university by the employer, through the Degree Apprenticeship levy, if a large company, or with the help of the government’s co-investment model, if a smaller company.
If you aren’t already employed by a company that is willing to sponsor you through an apprenticeship, you’ll need to find one. You can do this by regularly checking the Government’s Find an apprenticeship website.
You can also approach an employer yourself to find out whether they would be interested in offering Degree Apprenticeships and ask them to contact us. Our team will be able to explain to them how they can access the correct funding and the next steps.
Information for potential employers
If an employer has a wage bill of over £3 million, it would automatically pay the Government levy and would use this to fund learning via the company Apprenticeship Service Account.
Non- Levy companies can access funding via the Government co-investment model, whereby the Government will fund 95% of the learning costs and the company will fund the remaining 5%.
To access the Government funds, non-levy paying employers are required to set up an account on the Apprenticeship Service and reserve funding for apprentices, no earlier than three months before the course start date. Information regarding setting up an account can be found here. LJMU will still invoice non-levy paying companies for their contribution, but without this account LJMU will be unable to draw down the Government co-investment funding for the apprentices.
Employability
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
The student experience
Discover life as a postgraduate student at LJMU.
News and views
Browse through the latest stories and updates from the University and beyond
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
This course is currently undergoing its scheduled programme review, which may impact the advertised modules. Programme review is a standard part of the University’s approach to quality assurance and enhancement, enabling us to ensure that our courses remain up to date and maintain their high standard and relevancy.
Once the review is completed, this course website page will be updated to reflect any approved changes to the advertised course. These approved changes will also be communicated to those who apply for the course to ensure they wish to proceed with their application.
Your programme is made up of a number of core modules which are part of the course framework. Some programmes also have optional modules that can be selected to enhance your learning in certain areas and many feature a dissertation, extended report or research project to demonstrate your advanced learning.
Core modules
Senior Leader Apprenticeship-Business Administration Scale Up
0 credits
This is a Senior Leader Apprenticeship with embedded CMI Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour standards
K1-K20, S1 - S21, B1-B5
Teaching
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
Leaners would be expected to:
- attend one workshop every month (approx 3 days a month, or 2 days plus 1 day online)
- independent reading and preparation ahead of workshops
- be supported by their employer. In return for the funding their employer would be expected to support the staff member and liaise with the university’s apprentice mentor.
We adopt an active blended learning approach, meaning you will experience a combination of face-to-face and online learning during your time at LJMU. This enables you to experience a rich and diverse learning experience and engage fully with your studies. Our approach ensures that you can easily access support from your personal tutor, either by meeting them on-campus or via a video call to suit your needs.
What support is offered?
There is a strong apprenticeship team at LJMU to support the learner and employer. And there is a strong academic programme team to support the academic side of things. All learners have a personal academic tutor. All apprentices also have a university learning mentor.
There is a high level of support for students on this course and the needs of part-time students and degree apprentices are thought through. You will be appointed a Personal Tutor when you are inducted onto the course. They will be responsible for assisting you and providing guidance and care on academic and pastoral matters and also on the development of your Personal Development Plans (PDPs) which form an integral part of your programme and development.
In addition each member of staff has surgery hours which allow you to 'drop in' to discuss academic issues on a one to one basis.
Teaching methods
Our flexible delivery approach involves face-to-face teaching and facilitation, blending online support activity, with the facility to introduce live online sessions and individual and group tutorials. Action learning provides a forum to bring ideas, thoughts, issues and actionable remedies to the fore. It is also a supportive and collaborative environment for working with peers, facilitators and colleagues. The university 's Virtual Learning Environment (Canvas) gives you access to teaching and materials wherever you study and it provides a means for you to maintain contact and submit assignments.
Applied learning
We work closely with participants to support their work on real-world projects and gathering evidence for the portfolio. This includes using assignments, work-based project examples and witness testimony to demonstrate the participant's strategic development journey.
A strong emphasis is placed on the workplace as a place to learn; participants integrate key concepts and theories, assessing the impact of these on their own working environment.
The ability to analyse organisational issues and apply recommendations supported by a theoretical framework is fundamental and is assessed in all elements of the programme.
Assessment
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
Assessment methods on this programme include:
- the creation of a portfolio of evidence demonstrating apprenticeship standards throughout
- one piece of coursework
- undertake an End Point Assessment at the end of their 2nd year to gain the SLA award
Course tutors
Our staff are committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning
Dr Fiona Armstrong-Gibbs
Programme Leader
Julie is an HEA Fellow with over 20 years' experience lecturing in business management in higher education. Teaching specialisms lie in service experience and marketing management, strategic management and responsible growth and leadership skills development.
School facilities
What you can expect from your School
Liverpool Business School is based in the Redmonds Building and 4-6 Rodney Street, in the heart of the bustling Mount Pleasant Campus and Liverpool 's growing Knowledge Quarter. The building is home to high quality lecture theatres and seminar rooms, social spaces, and a café. It is only a short walk from LJMU 's Student Life Building and Aldham Robarts Library, which contains all the resources you will require for your studies.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Undergraduate degree
A bachelor’s degree with a 2.2 (hons) is required and at least three years’ relevant strategic management or leadership experience. Alternatively, a minimum of five years’ relevant strategic management or leadership experience would be considered if no prior degree is held.
GCSEs and equivalents
Apprentices must hold GCSE Mathematics and English Language (grade A*-C / 9-4) or equivalent and this must be evidenced prior to the start of the programme.
Alternative qualifications considered
If you do not meet the admissions criteria above, the course team has a strong commitment to widening participation and positively welcomes non-standard applicants. Candidates with some management experience or those who are about to enter a managerial role and have a demonstrated aptitude for study may still be considered dependant on circumstances and this can be discussed with the Programme Leader prior to application
Additional requirements
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Relevant work experience
Must be fully employed and spend at least 50% of their working hours in England over the duration of their, they must be fully employed by a UK based company and their contract must not expire prior to the end of the training programme
International requirements
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IELTS
Where English is not your first language, or your first degree was not taught and assessed wholly in English, an IELTS score of 6.5 must be achieved, with no individual score of less than 5.5. The programme complies fully with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010
Further information
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Extra Requirements
Job role: For the Senior Leader Apprenticeship, applicants must be employed in a job role in which they contribute to strategic leadership and management relating to their area of responsibility within the organisation.
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RPL
Credits may be awarded for learning already undertaken in the University or elsewhere for which you have received qualifications or certificates and you may submit a claim for recognition of unaccredited prior learning (RP(E)L). This may be for work you have accomplished in a professional, paid, or voluntary capacity. This must be submitted via an RPL form with supporting evidence. You will also be liable to pay an administration fee and charge per credit. All RP(E)L claims must be applied for at the point of admission and cannot be considered at a later stage.
Application and selection
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU Degree Apprenticeship form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
Learners enrolled on the programme must be in employment and required to undertake active learning associated with their job role.
Applicants must be employed and meet requirements of the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
If you aren’t already employed by a company that is willing to sponsor you through an apprenticeship, you’ll need to find one. You can do this by regularly checking the Government’s Find an apprenticeship website.
You can also approach an employer yourself to find out whether they would be interested in offering Degree Apprenticeships and ask them to contact us. Our team will be able to explain to them how they can access the correct funding and the next steps.
Just like any other job application, you’ll go through a recruitment process with the employer. Check out our interview tips to help you prepare for your Degree Apprenticeship interview. You’ll also need to meet the entry requirements to attend Liverpool John Moores University just like any other student. To do this, find your course and make sure you meet the requirements of the particular course associated with your Degree Apprenticeship.
To apply for a Degree Apprenticeship course complete the online application form.
Once you have applied you are required to complete and return a skills scan document that is automatically sent to you upon receipt of your application. The skills scan enables the programme team to carry out an initial assessment of the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) that you have acquired through your previous experience and study.
Following consideration of your skills scan, you and your employer contact will be invited to attend a meeting with the Programme Leader to further discuss the requirements of the apprenticeship, including the KSBs set out within the applicable Apprenticeship Standard.
If your application is successful, you’ll enter into an employment/apprenticeship contract with your employer which will set out the obligations of all parties involved in the apprenticeship.
The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.