“They don’t just want a degree, they want to make a difference”

The Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) programme at the University of Exeter has supported around 3,000 apprentices from a diverse range of employers – including the police, local councils, the NHS and the Bank of England – and from both small businesses and giants like Amazon. 

All of them are drawn in by the chance to gain a world-class degree from a Russell Group university – and learnings they can apply directly to their roles.

What do these people have in common? According to programme director Nirosha Holton, it’s about a certain can-do spirit. 

“Our apprentices don’t want just a degree, they want to make a difference,” she says. “These are professionals who aspire to senior leadership positions. They understand themselves and their career goals, and they’ve found a means to progress in a structured way they can trust.”

• How NHS manager Sarah boosted her confidence with a CMDA

Nirosha knows all about conscious personal development. Born in Sri Lanka, she built a career in corporate management, largely in hospitality, including 12 years working in Dubai. When she moved to the UK, the demands of a young family meant she needed to shift careers. She went back into education and, exploring her lifelong fascination with technology, became a cybersecurity expert. 

She soon found herself involved in an apprenticeship scheme at another university. She was then headhunted to set up the CMDA programme at Exeter, where she’s also now a senior lecturer. 

This was her first time working in a business school. She describes it as “an eye-opener”.

“At first, I was wondering if I could do it,” she says. “But, very quickly, I could see how they were industry experts and I was an academic expert. It was important to find the gaps and start building bridges. So that’s where I fit in.”

Supporting real change

Nirosha’s students share another trait: as they come from industry, they tend to have high-pressure jobs and busy lives outside of work, so their learning needs differ greatly from anyone who’s just taken their A-levels.