What cutting contentious funding means for the executive MBA

3 decades back, at the age of 39, Avtar Boparai grew to become an apprentice. He could do so due to the fact of a change in the way office training was funded in England — by a levy on companies that experienced to be expended inside two decades or be taken by the authorities in tax.

Like other levy payers, Boparai’s employer at the time — the children’s charity Barnardo’s — was totally free to fund no matter what degree of apprenticeship it felt needed, supplying the trainee time off in the course of the functioning 7 days to analyze. In Boparai’s situation this intended a senior leadership programme at Cranfield University of Administration in south-east England, at the stop of which he graduated with an government MBA.

“I did not want to pass up this chance due to the fact I could not find the money for to fork out for an MBA on my very own,” he says. “It is the most beneficial detail that I have at any time done.”

He is now a experienced growth qualified at Corndell, a administration and engineering training provider, coaching mentoring and teaching on the details experienced diploma, which can also be funded with the apprenticeship levy.

But his peers will now have to obtain other ways to realize what he has, due to the fact this experiment in funding EMBAs as a type of apprenticeship has come to an stop.

These senior leadership apprenticeships attracted controversy due to the fact of the use of levy money for a business masters and due to the fact entry-degree apprenticeships for college leavers declined sharply just after the levy was introduced in April 2017. EDSK, a think-tank, labelled the senior leadership qualification a “fake” apprenticeship. Because September, it has no more time been attainable for new senior leadership apprentices to fund a masters with levy funds.

Demand for EMBAs in the Uk rose swiftly just after the levy was introduced. Only about 500 individuals graduated from EMBA classes in the 2017-eighteen academic year, in accordance to the Chartered Affiliation of Enterprise Educational facilities (Cabs). This summertime there were 15,000.

The raise is partly down to a rise in applications since the pandemic, although the levy was a important aspect, says Robert MacIntosh, Cabs chair and school professional vice-chancellor for business and legislation at Northumbria University in north-east England. “Lots of member colleges experienced government and element-time MBA programmes that were having difficulties, then abruptly they observed they experienced developed like topsy,” he says.

Lorraine Stockle, associate 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 leader apprenticeship programme at Henley Enterprise University in southern England. “When I noticed the chance to get a great qualification with a really superior business college, it seemed insane not to just take it,” she says. “But I also did it to update my techniques.”

The apprenticeship policies intended Stockle experienced to just take time out from her functioning day to go to lessons, relatively than attending at weekends as is common for EMBA college students. 1 profit of the qualification has been to broaden her network at Verizon. “I now do stakeholder mapping, where I am wondering about everyone I have to have to engage with if I want to roll out an initiative,” she says. “The EMBA gave me a justification to [meet] with different stages of administration to recognize their views.”

The University of Exeter Enterprise University in south-west England experienced stopped functioning an EMBA due to the fact of a deficiency of applicants just after the levy utilization change. Nonetheless, desire for the senior leadership apprenticeship programme enable the college recreate the type of element-time analyze its previous EMBA cohorts would undertake for its common MBA.

Because it introduced the programme in 2018, in partnership with financial solutions team JPMorgan, far more than 500 individuals have gained a levy-funded MBA from Exeter. College students have come from a broader variety of backgrounds than the college traditionally has attracted to its MBA lessons, such as the NHS and other community-sector bodies.

“The largest profit of the apprenticeship programme in contrast with our MBA is the way it established chances for individuals who would not have done this just before,” says Rachael Johnstone, director of diploma apprenticeships. “It also integrates analyze with the office in a way MBA programmes often do not. The employer gets on board.”

Funding MBAs from funds that may well have presented office training for college leavers was constantly heading to be controversial. Nonetheless, Exeter’s MBA staff experience it is much too early to say no matter whether desire for EMBAs will slide. Stuart Robinson, associate dean for experienced education, notes that Exeter has enrolled about 70 college students as senior leadership apprentices for the new academic year. “What we are unable to see is how many individuals will be willing to up grade to the MBA, while from the conversations we have experienced I think it will be the vast majority,” he says.

At Henley, while it will now price tag an more £4,000-£5,000 to obtain an MBA just after the apprenticeship programme, it will be less complicated for college students as it can be done at weekends, relatively than in the course of business hrs below the apprenticeship levy rule, Johnstone notes.

College students can also just take a broader selection of classes to obtain their EMBA credits than are readily available below the apprenticeship programme. “We can start off with a blank website page and say, ‘What sort of issues do you want to deal with for your organisation?’” Johnstone adds.

MacIntosh is far more sceptical. “The senior leadership apprenticeship obtained a scale due to the fact it was a really profitable components. It was a great funding mechanism and it served colleges with what they were really having difficulties with — getting large adequate cohorts on their EMBA programmes,” he says.

“Investing in your administration techniques is a superior strategy for companies, but there is a large amount of pressure on company finances, which implies it is often not observed as a urgent adequate issue. Removing the incentive the apprenticeship levy gave is a true mis-stage.”