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A flagship qualification offered by Teesside University for senior business leaders is the first in the country to be remapped to a new accredited standard by a leading professional institute for managers.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has remapped and accredited Teesside University’s Senior Leader Apprenticeship (SLA) which has been designed by employers to develop strategic leadership skills for aspirational senior leaders.

At the end of the degree apprenticeship learners will qualify with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Teesside University Business School as well as a CMI Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice.

The SLA standard has recently been under review by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to ensure that it meets the criteria and learning outcomes required by industry.

Teesside University Business School has successfully mapped its teaching to meet the new standard and, as such, was the first university to be accredited by the CMI.

Teesside University’s MBA degree apprenticeship, formerly known as the Senior Leader Master’s Degree Apprenticeship, is one Teesside University Business School’s flagship executive education courses which has seen more than 140 apprentices enrolled since it was introduced.

The degree apprenticeship programme allows learners to study part-time while remaining in employment.

Apprenticeship levy-paying employers (those with pay bills over £3m) pay for apprenticeship training from their online levy accounts via the government’s apprenticeship service. They will also receive a 10% government top-up to their online accounts. Non-levy payers pay only 5% of the cost of apprenticeship training, with the remaining 95% paid by the government.

Dr Zhang He, MBA course leader (part-time route) at Teesside University Business School, said:

“A lot of work goes into ensuring that our qualifications meet the requirements of business so that our students can make a real impact in the workplace.

“We are therefore delighted that this has been recognised and our MBA degree apprenticeship is the first to be remapped and approved by CMI to the new standard.

“This is one of our flagship qualifications which places entrepreneurship at its heart and is delivering real results in building the management and leadership capacity of the Tees Valley and beyond.”

Helen Watts, Head of HE Partnerships at CMI, said:

“Teesside University Business School is a strategic partner of CMI and we’ve worked with them for a number of years.

“We take great pride in seeing them embracing the new SLA and also placing the additional value of their MBA and the CMI qualification as part of the apprenticeship.

“From our research we know that 75% of students look for a combined professional body accreditation when selecting their degree and with this being an apprenticeship Teesside ticks all of the boxes for the learner.”

For more information on the SLA at Teesside University Business School visit:

Senior Leader Apprenticeship (Master of Business Administration), MBA, course | Postgraduate study | Teesside University