What cutting contentious funding means for the executive MBA

A few yrs ago, at the age of 39, Avtar Boparai turned an apprentice. He could do so for the reason that of a adjust in the way office teaching was funded in England — via a levy on companies that experienced to be put in in just two yrs or be taken by the govt in tax.

Like other levy payers, Boparai’s employer at the time — the children’s charity Barnardo’s — was absolutely free to fund regardless of what level of apprenticeship it felt essential, supplying the trainee time off in the course of the doing the job week to review. In Boparai’s case this meant a senior leadership programme at Cranfield College of Management in south-east England, at the conclusion of which he graduated with an executive MBA.

“I did not want to skip this chance for the reason that I could not manage to pay out for an MBA on my have,” he claims. “It is the most valuable detail that I have ever completed.”

He is now a experienced development expert at Corndell, a administration and technologies teaching provider, coaching mentoring and instructing on the knowledge experienced diploma, which can also be funded with the apprenticeship levy.

But his peers will now have to uncover other methods to attain what he has, for the reason that this experiment in funding EMBAs as a variety of apprenticeship has arrive to an conclusion.

These senior leadership apprenticeships attracted controversy for the reason that of the use of levy funds for a small business masters and for the reason that entry-level apprenticeships for school leavers declined sharply following the levy was introduced in April 2017. EDSK, a imagine-tank, labelled the senior leadership qualification a “fake” apprenticeship. Considering the fact that September, it has no for a longer time been doable for new senior leadership apprentices to fund a masters with levy funds.

Demand from customers for EMBAs in the British isles rose rapidly following the levy was introduced. Only close to five hundred people graduated from EMBA courses in the 2017-18 educational yr, in accordance to the Chartered Affiliation of Small business Colleges (Cabs). This summer months there ended up fifteen,000.

The maximize is partly down to a increase in applications considering the fact that the pandemic, though the levy was a important element, claims Robert MacIntosh, Cabs chair and school professional vice-chancellor for small business and regulation at Northumbria University in north-east England. “Lots of member colleges experienced executive and aspect-time MBA programmes that ended up struggling, then suddenly they observed they experienced grown like topsy,” he claims.

Lorraine Stockle, affiliate director of talent acquisition for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at US telecoms company Verizon, also benefited from a levy-funded EMBA, graduating in August from the senior chief apprenticeship programme at Henley Small business College in southern England. “When I saw the chance to get a wonderful qualification with a genuinely fantastic small business school, it appeared outrageous not to get it,” she claims. “But I also did it to update my capabilities.”

The apprenticeship regulations meant Stockle experienced to get time out from her doing the job working day to go to courses, alternatively than attending at weekends as is common for EMBA college students. Just one advantage of the qualification has been to broaden her community at Verizon. “I now do stakeholder mapping, the place I am thinking about everyone I need to have to interact with if I want to roll out an initiative,” she claims. “The EMBA gave me a justification to [meet up with] with distinct stages of administration to understand their perspectives.”

The University of Exeter Small business College in south-west England experienced stopped managing an EMBA for the reason that of a absence of candidates following the levy utilization adjust. Nevertheless, need for the senior leadership apprenticeship programme permit the school recreate the form of aspect-time review its past EMBA cohorts would undertake for its normal MBA.

Considering the fact that it released the programme in 2018, in partnership with money providers group JPMorgan, extra than five hundred people have gained a levy-funded MBA from Exeter. Learners have arrive from a broader assortment of backgrounds than the school traditionally has attracted to its MBA courses, which includes the NHS and other community-sector bodies.

“The most significant advantage of the apprenticeship programme in contrast with our MBA is the way it established alternatives for people who wouldn’t have completed this right before,” claims Rachael Johnstone, director of diploma apprenticeships. “It also integrates review with the office in a way MBA programmes often do not. The employer gets on board.”

Funding MBAs from funds that could possibly have furnished office teaching for school leavers was constantly heading to be controversial. Nevertheless, Exeter’s MBA workforce experience it is far too early to say whether or not need for EMBAs will slide. Stuart Robinson, affiliate dean for experienced education and learning, notes that Exeter has enrolled about 70 college students as senior leadership apprentices for the new educational yr. “What we can not see is how several people will be keen to enhance to the MBA, although from the discussions we have experienced I imagine it will be the vast majority,” he claims.

At Exeter, although it will now expense an more £4,000-£5,000 to get an MBA following the apprenticeship programme, it will be much easier for college students as it can be completed at weekends, alternatively than in the course of office hrs less than the apprenticeship levy rule, Johnstone notes.

Learners can also get a broader wide variety of courses to get their EMBA credits than are out there less than the apprenticeship programme. “We can start out with a blank site and say, ‘What type of challenges do you want to offer with for your organisation?’” Johnstone adds.

MacIntosh is extra sceptical. “The senior leadership apprenticeship got a scale for the reason that it was a genuinely successful formulation. It was a wonderful funding mechanism and it served colleges with what they ended up genuinely struggling with — acquiring large adequate cohorts on their EMBA programmes,” he claims.

“Investing in your administration capabilities is a fantastic thought for companies, but there is a ton of stress on company finances, which indicates it is often not seen as a pressing adequate challenge. Eradicating the incentive the apprenticeship levy gave is a real mis-move.”