“I was adding more layers to the leadership experience I already had”

As trading operations manager for the University of Exeter’s catering and retail team, Duncan Tarrel CMgr MCMI is in charge of two campus eateries. 

But if that seems like a pretty full plate already, Duncan added a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship from September 2022. Alongside his role providing food for students and faculty, he found himself studying for a BSc in responsible business management alongside a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Management and Leadership Practice. 

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“I looked at the content and thought: this is chunky; this is big,” says Duncan, who had just finished an Italian language course and had the appetite for another learning challenge. “But it was a free degree essentially and I would become a Chartered Manager, too. So this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

A lot to digest

Duncan’s studies took two years, with six hours a week of his contracted hours allocated to study. This meant prepping his team ahead of time to be able to handle certain tasks without him – while making it clear he wasn’t disappearing and would still be around to support them. It also required a more disciplined approach to his calendar – and for him to work on assignments in evenings and at weekends.

He already had plenty to fill his free time – from watching epic films to riding his bike or walking his dog across the Devon countryside. So why sacrifice any of that for an academic qualification on top of his day job? 

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“I’d experienced various aspects of leadership across different roles without really understanding the ‘why’,” he says. “For example, I knew what motivated my team. But, by learning about the theory of motivation, I was able to gather more ways to motivate myself and others. I was adding more layers to the leadership experience I already had. And reading about things I’d already done in management was eye-opening.”