Degree apprenticeships become attractive to companies who wished to draw down their apprenticeship levy to upskill their talented employees. Thus, providing great opportunities for LBS. The course team identified that the BA Business Management Practice degree with its work-based design could be aligned to the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) standards. The degree is designed to offer organisations flexible and optional pathways to develop skills knowledge and competences to match business and industry needs. Apprentices are in full-time employment whilst studying towards their degree. Modules are delivered in blocks with work based learning and two-way knowledge transfer between industry and academia. The blending of academic theory with management practice knowledge and demonstrable skills and competence is a major feature of the degree.  The opportunity to work and to undertake live company projects provides students with valuable experience of how things work and how to get things done in an organization

The Business School has now designed and operationalised a bespoke Business Management Practice Degree Apprenticeship programme for the national pub and hotel chain JD Wetherspoon and The Casual Dining Group. We are working with the British Retailing Consortium to deliver a Retail Pathway Degree Apprenticeship and in September 2018 we launched our first Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, Open programme, targeting local businesses. We currently have 100 apprentices. 

The bespoke framework for the BA (Hons) Business Management Practice enables us to combine contextualised theoretical learning back into the workplace, increasing participants’ competence as professional leaders and managers.

Module Titles
Level 4 (Core) Level 5 Level 6
Accounting and Finance for Managers (20) Managerial Decision Making (20) Business Strategy (20)
Managing Organisations and People (20) Business Performance Management (20) Leadinf Innovation and Change (20)
Global Economic Awareness (20) Company / Industry Option (20) Company / Industry Option (20)
Understanding Markets and Customers (20) Company / Industry Option (20) Company / Industry Option (20)
Company / Industry Option (20) Performance Improvement Project (40) Organisational Impact Project (40)
Investigative Consultancy Report (20)    

Danny Nixon, Pub Manager at JD Wetherspoon: 

‘When the company announced that it was offering a degree apprenticeship I jumped at the chance. I now have this fantastic opportunity to increase my skill set as a manager – I have learnt a lot about my role as a leader, about decision making and considerations outside of the four walls of the pub."

Details of degree apprenticeships currently offered at Leeds Beckett are available at:

Jane Welbourn

Academic Quality Enhancement Associate / Academic Quality Enhancement Office

Jane is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader working within the School of Events, Tourism, Hospitality & Language. She is the Course leader for The Professional Diploma in Leisure Retail Management working with industry partners to develop continuing professional development programmes.

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