Degree apprenticeship

What can you expect from the INLOGOV MSc Executive Apprenticeship?

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If your organisation has signed up to  INLOGOV MSc Apprenticeships, and has given you the option to apply, you might be wondering if the course is right for you.  This post gives you a brief summary of what to expect to help you decide.

By the way – if your organisation is not signed up then read this post about why it is worth talking to INLOGOV about our MSc Apprenticeships.

The benefits

This is a course than can help you in your work and in your career.

In work it will help you develop as a public service leader and give you new ways to think about the challenges you face.  You will get to meet INLOGOV staff who are involved in cutting edge research and build new connections with others on the course.

Your career will also benefit.  Once you complete the course you will gain a Masters Degree from a Russell Group University, a Level Seven apprenticeship and diploma from the Chartered Management Institute with the possibility of membership.

And, because the scheme is part of the apprenticeship levy, you do not have to pay fees.

Your employer also benefits.  The INLOGOV MSc Executive Apprenticeship is a great way to improve the workforce and to ensure that pressing organisational challenges can be met.

Time and commitment

The course takes two and a half years during which time you need to spend 20% of your contracted work time on the apprenticeship.  This covers both the taught and the work based elements.

The way you spend this time is flexible and can be agreed between you, your employer and INLOGOV.  However, this time must only be used to work towards the MSc Apprenticeship.

Studying for the apprenticeship

Some of your time will be spent on the taught element.  This includes six modules and a dissertation.  You can expect to spent around 8 days on the Birmingham University Campus and the rest of the time studying online at a times to suit you.

There are no exams.  You will be assessed on written assignments and on the dissertation.

The modules you will study are:

  • Public Management and Governance
  • Leadership in Public Services
  • Commercialisation of Public Services
  • Public Policy and Evidence
  • Performance, Strategy and Challenge
  • Digital Era Public Policy

Each module will be assessed in the same way:

  • Assignment 1, 1,000 word essay (30%)
  • Assignment 2, 3,000 word essay (70%)

You will also complete a 12,000 word dissertation. The topic of this project will be chosen with input from your employer.

The workplace element

During the two and half years of the course you will upload a portfolio evidence to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard.

In the final six months you will also complete a workplace project to look at a current organisational challenge that you have agreed with your employer.

The assessment for the work place element will consist of a professional discussion, looking at the portfolio of evidence,  and a project showcase for your work place project, held with an independent assessor.

Support

Throughout your studies you will receive the same academic support as any other student studying with INLOGOV including access to the resources of the University of Birmingham.

INLOGOV will also provide a practice tutor to support you through the workplace elements of the apprenticeship.

At the beginning of the course you will meet with your practice tutor and someone representing your employer to agree responsibilities.

Applying

Once you get the go ahead from your employer you can start the application process.

To be eligible for the course you should have either a good first degree or be able to demonstrate sufficient work experience.

The application is done online and there is no formal interview required.

Further information

For more information about the course, including details of the MSc modules, visit the course website.

Talk to INLOGOV about your MSc Executive Apprenticeships

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The MSc Public Management and Leadership Executive Apprenticeship is a new course that has been developed in partnership with SOLACE.  It’s being offered by INLOGOV from October 2018 and has been designed with the Apprenticeship Levy in mind.

Catherine Mangan, Director of INLOGOV, explains why it’s worth thinking about.

“Here at INLOGOV we have been working in partnership with local councils for over 50 years to provide training and learning that is tailored to meet the needs of local government.

We have evolved as you have evolved and we understand what matters to you and to your employees. The challenges of austerity and of working with the wider public sector, for example, are major themes in our research and in our courses.

If you have been working with us on our 21st Century Public Servant project, on commissioning, on commercialisation or on co-production (to name just a few), you will know that staying in touch with local government is part of what makes our research cutting edge.

Using the Apprenticeship Levy to Support Senior Leaders

If you are thinking about investing your apprenticeship funding in the development of your senior managers, then we would love to talk to you.

Whether you are integrating MSc Apprenticeships with your existing leadership programme or creating something new, we can work with you to deliver an MSc Executive Apprenticeship that helps you to attract, retain and develop talented staff and to:

  • Prepare the next generation of senior managers and leaders
  • Recruit the brightest and best into graduate entry posts
  • Invest in your current senior leaders

This course is a way for you to promote a learning culture in your organisation and, through carefully targetted workplace projects, the MSc Executive Apprenticeship will also give you extra capacity to address pressing organisational challenges.

For employees the MSc Executive Apprenticeship is a way to gain an internationally recognized masters degree from a Russell Group University and a professionally recognized qualification without having to pay fees.

About the Course

The core elements of the apprenticeship have been designed with the new Apprenticeship Levy in mind so that local authorities have the option to use their apprenticeship funding to develop their senior leaders.

The workplace elements can be tailored to ensure that the 20% of time that students spend ‘off-the-job’ provides the maximum added value while fitting flexibly around service delivery. Throughout the course students will have access to INLOGOV staff and resources to help ensure that both their academic and workplace studies are a success.

The programme, which typically takes two and a half years, involves a combination of in-work learning and University study.  Participants will be offered a tailored experience and the opportunity to study in the UK’s leading academic centre for local governance and public management.

The MSc element of the apprenticeship combines online course material with a small number of days of more traditional teaching. This gives students both the flexibility that comes with distance learning and the benefit of a campus experience where they get to mix with apprentices from other councils and international students doing our regular MSc in public management.

On successful completion of the Executive Apprenticeship, participants will have acquired the knowledge, skills and qualities necessary to become dynamic and effective leaders of public sector organisations and will be awarded an MSc in Public Management and Leadership from the University of Birmingham, a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership, and Chartered Manager Status (subject to necessary experience) through the CMI.

You can find out more on the INLOGOV website here.

About INLOGOV

The Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV) is the leading UK centre for the study of public service management, policy and governance. With over 50 years of experience working within local government and the public sector, the Institute of Local Government Studies creates the latest thinking for public servants.

INLOGOV is uniquely placed to offer the executive apprenticeship.  As a team, we combine expertise in local government, experience of working with local councils, excellence in teaching and we are a pioneer in offering an online Masters in Public Administration.

We also have a strong track record of co-designing postgraduate programmes with local authorities and public organisations, including delivering the training component of the National Graduate Development Programme in partnership with SOLACE, for the Local Government Association.

Our staff come from varied disciplinary backgrounds and regularly work with politicians, managers, communities and partner organisations to enhance practice through academic insight.  We are engaged in policy and management research, continuing professional and management development and consultancy for central government and other national and local agencies. We draw great strength from our close links with the world of practice in local government, the voluntary sector and other public service agencies, for example those of criminal justice.

We offer a range of postgraduate degrees, at Doctoral, Masters, diploma and certificate levels. We welcome applications for part-time study as well as full-time. Our applied research activity feeds directly into our programmes, so our participants are among the first to hear the latest research findings and to reflect on how new thinking might impact on future policy and practice.

If your organisation is interested in the MSc Executive Apprenticeship contact:

Stephen Jeffares [email protected] or Louise Reardon [email protected]