Supply chain professionals recognised with a work-based degree solution

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Supply chain professionals recognised with a work-based degree solution.

Supply chain leaders and aspiring leaders, of all ages, are now able to gain a work-based supply chain leadership degree apprenticeship, which can be funded from employers' apprenticeship levy pots.

Uniserve Group has confirmed that the Supply Chain Leadership Degree Apprenticeship standard has been approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships, and will be deliverable by the middle of this year.

Uniserve, supported by the Supply Chain Academy and Leeds Trinity University, have been chairing the employer's group that have driven and created the standard for this qualification. The trailblazer group has included some of the UK's biggest supply chain leaders, including Sainsbury's, Nestle, Royal Mail, United Biscuits and Siemens, as well as many SME's, universities, colleges and supply chain professional bodies.

Official confirmation of the SUPPLY CHAIN LEADERSHIP PROFESSIONAL INTEGRATED LEVEL 6 DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP approval, was recently delivered to Uniserve HR Director - Paul Stone, who chaired the trailblazer group. This is fantastic news for the group and its members, and should be a major boost for supply chain professionals across multiple industries.

The work-based supply chain degree is suitable for all ages and requires only 20 days per year off-site learning, completion of which, usually over a four-year period, results in a full Bachelor's degree.

Paul commented "We are absolutely delighted with this news and looking forward to seeing relevant business-led qualifications and standards recognised in our profession. Our group is also communicating with government to map career paths from entry level up to the degree level, but more on that later".

"The degree can largely be funded through the apprenticeship levy, meaning companies can benefit from minimal investment while developing their most prized assets - their people".

"We are finding that lots of companies are still not making proper use of the funds that are generated from the apprenticeship levy, which can now be invested in creating fully functional and efficient supply chains."

Paul added, "I would like to thank all of the members of the group who gave up their own time to support this so admirably. Uniserve may have led this, but it was a real collaborative effort and congratulations should go out to all."

The degree apprenticeship approval follows news last week that Uniserve Group company - CP Training Services - have been successful in their application to be an apprenticeship training provider, which means that CP can deliver the apprenticeships and provide the required 20 days learning at the Supply Chain Academy.