Government roll out new apprenticeship scheme

The UK government has unveiled a new degree-level apprenticeship scheme that is designed to boost business performance across the country and increase the number of professional managers.

The development of the Level 6 Chartered Management Apprenticeship comes after an inquiry set up by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Management, which garnered the views of more than 200 employers on the management and leadership skills that will be most valuable in the future.

The new programme will be led by international service company Serco - which includes organisations Virgin Media and BBC - and supported by the CMI and Association of Business Schools.

Research performed by the CMI revealed that poor management and leadership costs the UK economy more than £19 billion each year, while 64 per cent of employers admit that a shortage of management skills is holding their business back from growth.

The latest scheme will work to alleviate such issues, as well as help apprentices on their way to achieving Chartered Manager status - the highest accreditation in professional management.

Speaking about the new apprenticeship scheme, Anne Kiem - chief executive at the ABS - said: "We believe this will be a game-changing initiative for management education in the UK. By providing access to world class business schools, school leavers will have the opportunity to develop their management capabilities to a high level, and existing employees will be able to accelerate their pathway to management.

"Through working with employers, Business Schools will create an apprenticeship genuinely responsive to employers' needs and will deliver the next generation of managers to support the growth and competitiveness of our economy for years to come."