PG Dip Senior Leader Apprenticeship - Business Administration

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.

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.

It is expected that graduates from this programme will have an improved career trajectory and we are committed to giving you the next level of knowledge for a higher salaried position and to be able to move more quickly and with confidence up the career ladder. The curriculum covers the broad range of business disciplines that prepares and enables you to work at board level, or in new enterprises. Importantly, many graduates have used the confidence and skills they have developed on the programme to achieve their aspirations and move across sectors and industry boundaries.

You will see a marked improvement on:

• Your day-to-day performance, confidence and learning in the workplace.
• Utilise new skills combined with experience to show new management thinking.
• Confidence in decision making, contributions to idea generation and business improvement.

Another benefit of studying at the Liverpool Business School is joining a network of senior professionals. This enables alumni and staff to continue building meaningful, long-term relationships beyond the classroom, as part of the Liverpool Leadership Network.

Liverpool Business School at Liverpool John Moores University is a member of AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB International is a global association of leaders in education and business dedicated to supporting and advancing quality business education worldwide. Through membership, accreditation, research, thought leadership, professional development, and advocacy, AACSB partners with over 1,500 organizations, from more than 90 countries globally. Membership or participation in the Global Education Alliance does not imply accreditation.

Qualification & degree awards

We recognise the impact that good leaders can have on productivity and performance, Businesses are increasingly recognising the importance and value of trained managers and are seeking professionals with recognised qualifications in leadership and management.

The postgraduate diploma and senior leader apprenticeship is a respected and globally recognised master’s level qualification in business and demonstrates to employers that your professional practice is underpinned by academic knowledge and evidence-based research.

There are 3 awards available to learners who undertake this programme.

Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip)

120 Credits: All taught modules to be completed.

Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert)

60 Credits: All core modules to be completed.

Master of Business Administration Full Award (MBA)

The 60 credit Consultancy Business Project is available at an additional cost to Top-Up your Postgraduate diploma to a full MBA award.

Teaching

An insight into teaching on your course

Study hours

The course is taught in a block of three days each month over two semesters as well as an induction at the start of the programme. There will also be masterclasses and additional apprenticeship touch points throughout the 2 years.

Learners will be expected to undertake work on their own and, given the applied approach to assessment, this will demand a degree of self-management and resilience to manage a full-time senior leader work role with part-time study.

In addition to the taught elements, students will spend time preparing for the session. The private study element comprises of independent research, further reading, preparation for taught sessions, follow-up activities and assignment preparation and write-up.

An example is shown below from a 20-credit module:

Total learning hours: 200

Taught element: 48 hours

Private study: 152 hours

What support is offered?

We nurture a supportive and collaborative environment for working with peers, facilitators, and colleagues. There is a strong apprenticeship team at LJMU to support you and employer and all apprentices are assigned a learning mentor for the duration of their programme. There is a highly qualified and experience academic programme team to support your academic development. All learners will have a personal academic tutor.

Teaching methods

Our flexible delivery approach involves face-to-face teaching and facilitation, blending online support & live online sessions for individual and group tutorials. Classroom sessions are devised as an interactive, learner-centred experience with group activities playing a large part in the learning experience. In addition, the teaching approach will utilise a ‘flipped learning environment’ as well as technology, when appropriate, to maximise learning opportunities.

As this is a Level 7 course, we encourage criticality and provide students with key texts for further discussion in sessions. We critically examine case studies, look at examples of successes and challenges within the real world and engage in simulation activities.  We use a variety of tools to encourage self-reflection. 

The VLE (Canvas) gives you access to teaching and materials wherever you study and allows information and resources to be shared in advance of taught sessions and it also serves as a repository for module-based materials including assessment guidance & submission, reading lists, contact information and signposting to further resources. Some modules use the discussion board feature to incorporate tutor led support and peer to peer communication.

Applied Learning

At the centre of our philosophy is the notion that we learn best from experience and applying our learning, so action learning and coaching are a key part of our programmes. This approach also encourages strong peer learning groups where you can learn from your peers, in recognition of the fact that management and leadership development is a social and collaborative process.

A strong emphasis is placed on the workplace as a place to learn; consequently, everybody brings their experience from their area of expertise with them, and you will be encouraged to share how your learning has been applied and improved practice in your workplace. The programme is personalised to individuals so that you can apply your learning to your own workplace projects and tasks and participants integrate key concepts and theories, assessing the impact of these on their own working environment. This approach also provides a forum for learners to bring ideas, thoughts, issues, and actionable remedies to the forefront. The ability to analyse organisational issues and apply recommendations supported by a theoretical framework is a fundamental element of the programme and will provide learners the confidence to diagnose and resolve problems from the workplace.

Techniques include:

Recognising the workplace as an important place to learn: Learners will apply ideas in the workplace, improving their skills through a range of workplace activities and then reflecting and reviewing this practice with peers on the programme.

Self-development planning: Organisational processes can be applied to ensure that individuals plan to develop their own strengths in line with business competencies and values, and to recognise their own personal needs.

Using 'flipped learning': This reverses the conventional process of teaching by providing the content prior to the teaching and learning session using a virtual learning environment, so that the focus of the workshop becomes about active learning and application of theory to practice. The flipped learning environment allows for the teaching experiences to probe learning and development through facilitation suited to the executive education experience.

Coaching and peer-to-peer coaching: Coaching not only enables the individual learner to tailor the programme to meet their needs, but it also provides the opportunity for the organisation to propose business critical skills and values which can become a part of the development activities.

Action learning: This will be adopted as a supportive and collaborative approach to learning to manage. Action learning will be used to support personal development, where issues and challenges from the workplace can be discussed.

Projects: For each theme there is the possibility of designing an in-company project or series of projects to ensure that business needs are met.

Masterclasses: Keynote speakers will address current issues, emerging practice and thought leadership.

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
• coursework
• undertake an End Point Assessment at the end of their 2nd year to gain the SLA award

Where specific software packages are used, there is an expectation that these will form part of the assessment submission, whilst other skills will be embedded in specific modules. The core management competences of allocating priorities and time management are supported by clear submission deadlines, with protocols for extenuating circumstances. 

Entry requirements

You will need:

Qualification requirements

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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

• 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.

  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.

Further information

• Extra Requirements
• 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.