WMG, an academic department at the University of Warwick, has launched a new master’s degree (MSc) program in association with Royal Mail Group which is designed to develop leadership talent in technology-based industries. A wide range of Royal Mail staff, from all levels of management, are the first participants in this new program.
Twenty-five Royal Mail staff enrolled with WMG in September 2018 in a three-year development program, which will enable the participants to gain a leadership and management-focused MSc from the University of Warwick. The program is aligned to the Level 7 Senior Leader Master’s Degree Apprenticeship standard.
The three-year part-time program combines workplace learning with block release study at WMG in eight one-week study modules, each followed by a work-based assignment plus a work-based project.
The program is made up of core and elective modules, giving participants the opportunity to develop specializations of particular relevance to their current role and future career aspirations. It will lead to a University of Warwick MSc and a degree apprenticeship.
Next year this master’s program will be open to staff from a range of other businesses. The Royal Mail cohorts will come from right across the UK, and from a range of roles such as Royal Mail technical/engineering services and logistics management, and will also include some senior managers from Parcelforce Worldwide.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said, “This initiative will give us new tools and techniques to help develop our people’s skills, support the aspiring next generation of talent and make the leaders of the future.”
Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, WMG chairman, said, “I myself served a graduate apprenticeship at Lucas Industries so I’m delighted to see government and business working together to provide many more degree apprenticeships funded through the apprenticeship levy.
“A great many businesses appreciate that apprenticeships are a powerful means of creating and inspiring a highly skilled and passionate workforce.”