Key details

Start date(s)
September 2024
Study Mode
Part-time (3.5 years)
Location
Leeds City Campus
School
Business

BSc (Hons) Professional Practice in Project Management

This work-based programme is designed to provide the essential knowledge, understanding, and skills required to operate effectively as project managers and lead teams on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. 

Core areas of the programme focus on contemporary project management issues and the understanding of complex project environments. 

The apprentice will need to be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week in a relevant role and have the support of their employer.

The Student Contract

About this course

This apprenticeship is suitable for anyone who wishes to pursue a career in project management or for those already in project management roles who are ready to develop their skills further.

The programme is aimed at employees in roles such as public, private and third sectors in industries as diverse as banking, insurance, government, healthcare, retail and transport. Increasingly, organisations employ project managers to improve processes or implement change to become more efficient and effective. This may require managing interdisciplinary teams within various organisational structures and across organisations.

Apprentices will combine work-based learning opportunities with academic knowledge gained through formal workshops and projects relevant to the organisation where they work.

The Project Management Degree Apprenticeship is:

  • Designed by industry professionals
  • Only available to those who have full time employment in a relevant role
  • Suitable as a way to upskill existing members of staff or as a pathway for new employees
  • Delivered in small groups with specially designed learning sessions ensuring that apprentices get the most out of their time in workshops and lectures
  • Underpinned by the BSc (Hons) Professional Practice in Project Management degree
  • Required to include a minimum of six hours a week off-the-job learning
  • Funded through the Apprenticeship Levy - no fees are paid by the apprentice

Programme duration and delivery

It will typically take three-and-a-half (3.5) years to complete the apprenticeship. This includes three years for the taught component, and a further six months for the final year project, incorporating the apprenticeship End Point Assessment. There may also be opportunities to join part-way through the programme if candidates have considerable experience in a particular area.

Apprentices will receive all the benefits of being a student at Leeds Trinity University, while also earning a full-time salary from their employer.

This apprenticeship is delivered through a blended learning approach. Apprentices benefit from face-to-face and online lectures and seminars, delivered by Leeds Trinity University. In addition to this, apprentices will also complete independent research activities which can be undertaken in the workplace.

Note: This course will only run if minimum student numbers are met.

Course modules

You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Year 1

During your first year, you'll study four core modules.

Introduction to your Professional Degree Apprenticeship - Core

This module explores the nature and complexity of organisations, and introduces the functional specialisms in management.

 

Apprentices will cover the challenges of organisational behaviour through class-based exercises on topics such as leadership, motivation, group formation, behaviour and change. A significant part of the early session will be used to consider the international implications of people management. 

This will allow all apprentices to utilise and benefit from the range of nationalities and international experience in the student and staff body in a group setting.
Project Environment and Organisational Strategy - Core

This module explores the nature and complexity of organisations, and introduces the functional specialisms in management.

Apprentices will cover the challenges of organisational behaviour through class-based exercises on topics such as leadership, motivation, group formation, behaviour and change. A significant part of the early sessions will be used to consider the international implications of people management.

This will allow all apprentices to utilise and benefit from the range of nationalities and international experience in the student and staff body in a group setting. 
Negotiated Learning: Tools and Techniques of Project Management - Core

This module explores tools, techniques and methodologies required for professional planning and implementing projects, evaluating costs, and managing risk.

A project-based environment will be nurtured and supported throughout the module to aid the apprentice is delivering a baseline of project management skills expected in a high-value workplace.
Methods and Principles of Project Management - Core

Apprentices will discover the principles of project management along with the variety of approaches required to initiate and execute projects.

Diverse contexts are explored to identify differences in the application of project management between industries; public, private and third sectors. Apprentices will examine the stages of project lifecycles as well as investigate who stakeholders are, and how they can be managed. 

This module introduces apprentices to the function project management plays in the world by 'getting things done'. 

Year 2

During your second year, you'll study five core modules.

Managing Finance within Projects - Core

The module addresses aims to assist apprentices with managing finance within projects. Apprentices will learn the importance of financial appraisals and the ability to interpret their results and how they can be communicated.

Apprentices will also practice the use of budgeting and cost control which involves creating detailed project cash flow forecasts, agreeing budgets, conducting cost control, creating cost reports, amending budgets based on new cost forecasts, and amending project plans based on new budget constraints.
Apprenticeship Portfolio Review - Core

This module supports apprentices in reflecting on their professional experiences, identifying valuable insights from both formal education and workplace learning.

Apprentices will explore methods to analyse and evaluate their work-based knowledge, developing skills in presenting their learning achievements clearly and coherently. The module emphasises the connection between personal learning outcomes and professional growth, encouraging apprentices to map their experiences to their apprenticeship standards.

Apprentices will also take ownership of planning a coherent learning programme that aligns with their academic goals and job responsibilities, ensuring continuous development throughout their apprenticeship.
Managing People in Projects - Core

This module introduces apprentices to the key aspects of theoretical management and leadership models and the application of these in practice.

Apprentices will study the role of people management and the development of human resources, competitive advantage through human resource and people management, and discuss case studies relating to contemporary issues in the workplace. 

Apprentices will undertake exercises involving people management skills and will develop practical experience of team-working and individual reflection on personal performance and areas for development.
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution - Core

In this module, apprentices will explore the tension, which can often arise as a result of people undertaking a project, as well as the various situations where negotiation is necessary. Apprentices will get the opportunity to examine the theory and practice involved in negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution.

Apprentices will also explore management styles and practices, issues of power and control, and concepts of managing diversity within a project management environment.
Negotiated Learning: Projects in the Workplace - Core

Sharpen your awareness of small-scale work-based project stages and processes in this module.

You'll cover work-based project types, ethical data use, project design, stakeholder communication, and more.

You and your tutor will customise your aims and objectives in the Learning Agreement to align with your unique projects and professional context.

Year 3

During your third and final year, you will study five modules.

Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues in Project Management - Core

This module will teach apprentices to better understand the ethical, professional and legal issues relating to project management. It provides insight into the operating constraints and human issues involved in projects, especially within complex, global organisational contexts.

Apprentices will explore ideas around project management as a professional discipline with a focus on issues of integrity, ethics and trust relating to professional conduct. They will also specifically examine legal issues relating to procurement such as contract law as well as health and safety as both a legal duty and a moral obligation. 
Advancing Your Portfolio Towards End Point Assessment

This module guides apprentices in consolidating learning and workplace experiences, introducing them to Gateway and End Point Assessment requirements.

Through reflection and gap analysis, apprentices build a project proposal, aligning outcomes with occupational standards, and ensuring comprehensive coverage.

Emphasising learning articulation, progression reflection, and project proposal creation, this module prepares apprentices for the Work-Based Project module.
Leadership in Projects

This module will introduce apprentices to an introduction to the fundamentals of leadership, and how these relate to professional practice, from small businesses to global enterprises.

Apprentices will engage with a critical overview of traditional approaches to leadership such as trait, situational and process theories, which will be contrasted to new approaches which conceptualise leadership as separate from authority and management. 

Apprentices will also consider their own leadership journeys and leadership potential while engaging with seminal and contemporary writings on leadership and it's application in life. 
Managing Complexity, Uncertainty and Risk in Projects

This module allows you to explore the overlaying structures that exist within complex project environments. It aims to provide apprentices with insight into the interdependence and reliance on various systems used to enable a successful project environment.

During the module, apprentices will have the opportunity to map the various related systems that support the achievement of projects.

Apprentices will also critique the reliance on tools and systems for decision-making within complex project environments. 
Defining Projects for Success - Core

Apprentices will examine the advantages of early planning concerning procurement, funding, and contract issues whilst approaches to value management will be critiqued.

As all projects are about the production of benefits, Apprentices will gain a specific focus on a thorough understanding of defining benefits and planning benefits management and realisation techniques. 

Year 4

During your fourth and final year, you will study one module, incorporating the End Point Assessment for the apprenticeship as well.

Gateway and End Point Assessment - Core

Learning and teaching

Throughout the programme, apprentices are assessed via various methods including:

  • reports
  • presentations
  • professional discussions
  • assignments
  • work-based projects

Apprentices will also create a portfolio of evidence throughout the programme to allow them to demonstrate how they have achieved the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the Apprenticeship Standard. Evidence may include reports, reflective logs, formative assessments and learning journals.

Upon completion of the programme, apprentices will complete the End Point Assessment. The End Point Assessment is the final stage of the apprenticeship and will consist of a work-based project, a presentation, and a panel interview. This will be assessed by an independent assessor and is designed following the relevant Apprenticeship Standard.

Apprentices are required to attain the Association for Project Management (APM) Project Management Qualification (PMQ). The teaching for the exam is incorporated into the two modules, 'Methods and Principles of Project Management' and 'Tools and Techniques of Project Management.' In addition to regular delivery and assessment of these two modules, apprentices will attend a 1-day workshop aimed at APM's PMQ exam revision.

About Negotiated Learning:

All apprentices will work with their employer to agree on the central theme of their work-based learning for Negotiated Learning modules. These themes will be based on the Degree Apprenticeship Standard. Apprentices, employers, and mentors will come together and agree upon the preferred Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) that the apprentice will focus on during each module.

Programme delivery

Your time on campus, learning through in-person teaching, is at the heart of your academic experience and the way we deliver our programmes. This is supported and further enhanced by additional engagement activities and opportunities provided online and through digital teaching materials. This blended approach seeks to ensure a positive learning and teaching student experience.

Your programme of study has been carefully designed around a three-phase model of delivery:

  1. Preparation: You will be given clear tasks to support you in preparing for live teaching. This could include watching a short-pre-recorded lecture, reading a paper or text chapter or preparing other material for use in class.
  2. Live: All your live teaching will be designed around active learning, providing you with valuable opportunities to build on preparation tasks, interact with staff and peers, and surface any misunderstandings.
  3. Post: Follow-up activities will include opportunities for you to check understanding, for staff to receive feedback from you and your peers to inform subsequent sessions, and for you to apply learning to new situations or context.

Preparation, Live and Post teaching and learning and the digital materials used will vary by course, but will be designed to help you structure your learning, take a full and active part in your course, and apply and test your developing knowledge and skills.

Learning and teaching

At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.

Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:

  • high quality teaching
  • an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement
  • a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.

We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.

We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:

  • Student Involvement and Engagement
  • Inclusion
  • Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience
  • Digital Literacy and Skills
  • Employability and Enterprise

To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.

We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:

  • Personalised support
  • Expert lecturers
  • Strong connections with employers
  • An international outlook
  • Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development

Entry requirements

Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits.

The following information is designed to give you a general overview of the qualifications we accept. If you are taking qualifications that are not included below, please contact our Apprenticeship Student Admin team who will be happy to advise you.

Applicants must:

  • Must hold a level 2 qualification in English Language and Maths Grade 4/C or above
  • Provide evidence of the highest achieved qualifications
  • Be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week in a relevant role and have the support of their employer
  • Live and have the right to work in England (ID will be requested)

Once a completed evidence pack is received applicants will undertake an initial assessment interview and skills scan with the programme lead to establish their suitability for the apprenticeship.

Support

We offer extensive support to all our apprentices - whatever their background or academic experience.

This includes access to our Peer Support Champions, Disability Services, Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Service and the Learning Hub, which offers tailored support for academic skills.

Fees and finance

Costs of programme

The cost of the full degree apprenticeship programme is £22,000.

Funding

Degree Apprenticeships are fully funded by your employer if their wage bill is over £3 million each year.

The government will fund up to 95% of the apprenticeship’s course fees, up to the relevant funding band, if the organisation has spent all its levy or has an annual wage bill below £3 million each year. Employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy contribute 5% towards the total cost of the apprenticeship, the ESFA will contribute the other 95% directly to the University. Employers must have an account with the Apprenticeship Service Account to be able to reserve Government funding for an apprenticeship. This reservation ensures that funds will be available to pay for the training from the point the apprenticeship starts.

Read more about how levy payments work at the UK Government website.

How to apply

Get in touch

Whether you’re looking to develop your skills with us as an apprentice, or you’re an employer looking for more information on using Leeds Trinity University as a training provider, please complete the form below and we will contact you to discuss your options.

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