Our Staff Apprenticeships provide hands-on learning and career development opportunities for St Mary's employees. Staff are given the opportunity to continue earning while learning new skills by working directly with experienced professionals and undertaking accredited courses relevant to their work.
Apprenticeship training fees are covered by our contribution to the apprenticeship levy and are therefore cost neutral to the department.
Please refer to the Staff Apprenticeships Policy for:
- eligibility criteria
- responsibilites of the learner and their line manager.
Is an apprenticeship right for me?
The Apprenticeship Occupational Map is a great starting point to see if there is an apprenticeship available that is right for you. There are over 800 accredited courses from which you can choose, from GSCE level right up to master’s level.
There is no change to your employment contract terms and conditions, no change to salary, and no training fees to pay, plus your learning would take place during working hours, with 20% of your time dedicated to the apprenticeship programme. There is also no age limit which is a common misconception.
It is important for you and your line manager to consider the impact of you spending at least 20% of your time off the job. We suggest having a conversation about how you plan to allocate the time during the workday (for example, blocking out your Fridays to dedicate time towards your Apprenticeship).
Next steps
1. Research to find the right apprenticeship for you
If you believe an apprenticeship is a suitable development path for you, a good starting point is to explore the apprenticeship occupational maps which outline various apprenticeship options available.
Next, discuss the opportunity with your line manager in your appraisal or 1-2-1 discussions. Your line manager will need to confirm support of the apprenticeship as 20% of your working time each week will need to be dedicated to the apprenticeship. The apprenticeship will need to link to your current job role as you have to demonstrate the learning in practice, this is requirement of the funding rules.
The apprenticeship levy fund will cover the cost of the training programme. Any other costs will need to be covered by the department, for example, travel (some are online programmes), equipment, professional registration.
For eligibility criteria, refer to Section 4 in the Staff Apprenticeships Policy.
2. Fill out the application form
Once you determine suitability of the apprenticeship with your line manager and your eligibility:
- Fill out the Application Form on DocuSign.
- You will need signed approval from your line manager as well as the Dean of Faculty/ Head of School or Director of Department. You are responsible for ensuring both levels of approval are completed, otherwise the L&PD team will not receive it. You can track this on your DocuSign account.
- Once all parties have signed, the L&PD Team will review your application. We will explore if the programme is funded by the apprenticeship levy and whether or not we have an existing training provider for that programme.
Apply now
3. Training provider
If we have an existing training provider for the apprenticeship, they will be the training provider used.
If we do not have an existing Training Provider for the apprenticeship, we will need to find a new one.
Once the training provider has been selected, the Learning and People Development Team will issue a contract to them which they must sign.
The process of selecting a provider can be lengthy as we prioritise partnering with top-tier providers to ensure the highest quality apprenticeship delivery. Please allow enough time for this to be completed.
4. Skills Scan
You will need to complete a learning review with the training provider to map out your apprenticeship programme. They will need to review your job description to ensure it is possible for you to put the learning from the apprenticeship into practice. They will also discuss your prior learning. Note: If you have completed a similar subject area qualification, you may not be eligible to complete the apprenticeship.
Below are some of the apprenticeships currently undertaken by our staff:
Duration
15 months, plus three months End Point Assessment.
Who is it suitable for?
This Apprenticeship provides the breadth and depth of skills needed to perform administrative duties effectively and efficiently.
It focuses on adding value to the administrative function of a business by covering topics such as record keeping, document production, planning and organisation, stakeholder communication, and business fundamentals. Business Administration apprenticeships are ideal at developing professionalism, responsibility, and adaptability in the workplace meaning they are suitable for a wide range of individuals looking to develop their skills and careers.
What will I learn?
You will have the opportunity to learn:
- effective communication
- different types of organisations
- efficient use of IT
- record and document production
- interpersonal skills
- quality
- planning and organisation
- project management
- stakeholder engagement
- legislation and regulations
- policies and procedures.
How will I learn?
You will learn using a blended delivery model, including:
- monthly virtual group workshops
- 1-2-1 workshops.
Learn more
Duration
15 months, plus three months End Point Assessment.
Who is it suitable for?
This apprenticeship is ideal for someone in a first line management role, with operational and project responsibilities, or responsibility for managing a team to deliver a clearly defined outcome.
Other key responsibilities can include supporting, managing, and developing team members, managing projects, planning and monitoring workloads and resources, delivering operational plans, and resolving problems.
What will I learn?
As an apprentice, you will have the opportunity to learn:
- effective communication
- self-awareness and self-management
- building relationships
- negotiation and influencing
- effective leadership and management
- managing challenging conversations
- problem solving
- conflict management
- critical analysis and evaluation
- escalating issues
- operational management
- company vision
- how to set up and manage projects
- how to monitor budgets.
How will I learn?
You will learn using a blended delivery model, including:
- monthly virtual group workshops (three hours)
- monthly virtual one-to-one sessions (one hour)
- quarterly face-to-face half-day group workshops.
Learn more
Duration
15 months, plus three months End Point Assessment.
Who is it suitable for?
This Apprenticeship is suitable for employees who already work in a data role and want to develop their knowledge and skills to a higher or more technical and diverse level.
Learners should be using data to solve business problems as a significant proportion of their role and must be competent at using Microsoft Excel at an intermediate level.
What will I learn?
You will have the opportunity to learn:
- machine learning and artificial Intelligence
- data types, structure, and database design
- programming languages (Python or R& SQL)
- data manipulation with pandas
- working with arrays using NumPy
- customer requirements and user experience
- security, ethics, and legislation (including GDPR)
- statsitical principles and methodologies
- interpreting and collating qualitative and quatitative data
- advanced data analystics tools and techniques
- prescriptive and predictive analytics
- data mining, modelling, and forecasting
- Orange 3, regresssion models, and time series analysis
- advanced data visualisation techniques (Power BR or Tableau).
Learn more
Duration
15 months, plus three months End Point Assessment.
Who is it suitable for?
This Apprenticeship is designed for employees who want to gain a thorough understanding of all the processes and techniques that support robust project management.
You will need to be working within a project management environment, or within a role where you can be given ownership of specific elements of a project.
What will I learn?
You will have the opportunity to learn:
- tools and techniques to support robust project management
- preparation of a project business case and alignment with business objectives
- resource management through the full project lifecycle
- project monitoring and performance reporting
- change control processes
- identifying risks and managing issues
- stakeholder management and communication
- legislation, regulation, and codes of practice
- ethical procurement strategies and processes
- quality management and continuous improvement.
Learn more
Duration
15 months, plus three months End Point Assessment.
Who is it suitable for?
This is suitable for is someone who manages teams and/or projects to achieve operational or departmental goals and objectives as part of the delivery of the organisation's strategy.
Key responsibilities may include creating and delivering operational plans, managing projects, leading, and managing teams, managing change, financial and resource management, talent management, coaching, and mentoring.
What will I learn?
As an apprentice, you will have the opportunity to learn:
- effective communication
- interpersonal skills
- building relationships
- approaches to managing conflict
- problem solving and decision making
- leading and managing multiple teams
- organisational strategy
- commercial awareness
- managing change
- project management tools
- risk analysis
- evaluation of projects
- the key elements of business finance
- budget setting and forecasting.
How will I learn?
You will learn using a blended delivery model, including:
- monthly virtual group workshops (three hours)
- monthly virtual one-to-one sessions (one hour)
- quarterly face-to-face half-day group workshops.
Learn more
Duration
13 months, plus three months End Point Assessment.
Who is it suitable for?
This is suitable for aspiring coaches or someone looking to develop existing coaching skills as a manager or leader.
What will I learn?
The course is divided into three modules:
- Module 1 - Understanding the skills, principles, and practice
- Module 2 - Undertaking coaching in the workplace
- Module 3 - Becoming a professional coach.
How will I learn?
You will learn using a blended delivery model, including:
- online workshops, tutorials, and webinars
- specific pre-recorded videos
- assignments
- ongoing bespoke progressive personal and professional development plan
- one to one virtual support sessions
- quarterly reviews
- workplace project.
Learn more
Duration
17 months, plus three to five months End Point Assessment
Who is it suitable for?
This is aimed at leaders who have senior management responsibility. These may be departmental managers ready to ascend to the next level of leadership, strategic innovators; leaders tasked with sculpting the future of departments, divisions or enterprises, directors aiming to refine and enhance their leadership prowess.
What will I learn?
Impact series workshops including:
- Lead with Impact
- Present Impact
- Team Impact
- Commercial Impact
- Personal Impact.
Elective series workshops covering:
- Strategy
- Finance
- Leadership
- Change
- Performance.
How will I learn?
You will learn using a blended delivery model, including:
- 5 face-to-face impact series workshops
- elective series workshops
- networking with other senior leaders from a range of businesses
- support from day one with a dedicated coach who will help you shape the programme based on your individual needs and your environment.
Learn more
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