CMI Level 5 Apprenticeship Standard
 

Who is it for?

The programme is highly flexible, being designed to provide a broad programme of professional development for individuals who have undertaken training at a lower level (e.g. the Level 3 Team Leader Apprenticeship) and/or who have acquired significant professional experience in management but who wish to develop their knowledge and skills further in order to improve their performance and progress their careers.

An Operations/Departmental Manager is someone who manages teams and/or projects to achieve operational or departmental goals and objectives, as part of the delivery of the organisation’s strategy. They are accountable to a more senior manager or business owner. Working in the private, public or third sector and in all sizes of organisation, specific responsibilities and job titles will vary, but the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed will be the same. Key responsibilities may include creating and delivering operational plans, managing projects, leading and managing teams, managing change, financial and resource management, talent management or coaching and mentoring. Roles may include: Operations Manager, Regional Manager, Divisional Manager, Department Manager and specialist managers.
 

Entry Requirements

Participants must be working in a managerial capacity in order to be able to complete this apprenticeship.  Ideally (though not necessarily), they will also have developed some knowledge of leadership and management theory through participation in previous learning such as the Team Leader/Supervisor apprenticeship or the CMI Level 3 Diploma in Management and Leadership.

 

Course Content

The programme consists of the following elements:

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Knowledge & Skills Behaviours

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• Operational management

• Project management

• Finance

• Leading people

• Managing people

• Building relationships

• Communication

• Self awareness

• Management of self

• Decision making

• Takes responsibility

• Inclusive

• Agile

• Professionalism

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Qualifications

As part of the programme, employees are awarded a nationally recognised qualification: The level 5 Diploma in Management & Leadership. This is achieved through completion of set assignments that are assessed by the Assessor Coach and quality assured by the CMI. The qualification comprises the following units:

• Principles of management and leadership in an organisational context

• Principles of developing, managing and leading individuals and teams to achieve success

• Managing stakeholder relationships

• Managing projects to achieve results

• Managing change

• Creating and delivering operational plans

• Managing finance

• Using reflective practice to inform personal and professional development

Delivery

The programme typically takes around 18 months to complete. Following Covid-19 we have moved to a completely remote delivery model which includes:

• Video call tutorials

  • Recording allows learners to retain and review these

  • Screenshare and cloud-based file management allow real-time collaboration and editing of documents

Virtual classroom workshops (subject to individual need)

• These enable learners to get to know and collaborate with other participants in the programme

• Quarterly Progress Reviews involving the Assessor Coach, the learner and the employer

• E-learning modules

• The development of an electronic portfolio of evidence (e-portfolio)

 

The tutorial takes place fortnightly and is used to:

• Provide teaching and learning to cover knowledge requirements

• Plan future learning and set SMART targets

• Set coursework/assignments

• Review and assess coursework and provide feedback

The learner records evidence of their learning in their e-portfolio.  Evidence/coursework can include: documents (reports, assignments etc.), spreadsheets, observations, professional discussions and witness testimonies from the line manager.

At the start of the programme, the Assessor Coach will work with the employer and the employee to develop a Training Plan which will be designed to ensure that it meets the needs of both.
 

End Point Assessment

When the employer, the learner and the Assessor Coach all agree that the learner is ready, they pass through ‘Gateway’.  This means the training is completed and the learner registers for their End Point Assessment (EPA).  The End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) is chosen by the employer but we work closely with, and recommend, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) for this purpose because of the membership benefits it offers participants.

The EPA consists of:

1. A professional discussion, underpinned by a portfolio of evidence

2. A project proposal, presentation and questioning
   The project proposal may be based on any of the following:

● The need to review and implement a change plan to improve efficiency within the workplace

● The continuous improvement review of a current process, service or product to ensure it is still fit for purpose and meets the current needs of the business

● The need to implement a direct saving (e.g. percentage decrease in direct costs, reduction in headcount) across their team, department or organisation following a reforecast activity

The list above is not exhaustive but the EPAO should sign off the project proposal’s title and scope to confirm its suitability at the gateway (no more than 500 words). The employer is responsible for ensuring it has a real business benefit and the EPAO is responsible for confirming that it provides appropriate coverage of the KSBs. The maximum duration of the project proposal should be 12 weeks and will be 4,000 words. Learners will then prepare a presentation.

Both elements should be submitted no later than 12 weeks after Gateway. Two weeks after submission the learner will deliver their presentation to the Independent End Point Assessor.

Both assessment elements are weighted equally in their contribution to the overall EPA grade.  The interview, presentation and professional discussion are undertaken via web-conferencing software that enables video and screen sharing.
 

English and Maths

All apprenticeship training programmes include an element of English and maths education and your line manager/mentor will be asked to work with you and the Assessor Coach to identify where these subjects play an important part of your role so that your Assessor Coach can ensure that any areas for development are addressed.

If you do not already hold level 2 qualifications in these subjects, you will be required to study for and achieve level 2 Functional Skills qualifications in them.  This study is over and above the study required for the apprenticeship itself.
 

Progression Options

The primary aim of this training programme is to enable learners to perform better in their role and as a result of this to improve their employer’s performance and progress their careers. 

The natural qualification progression would be to the Chartered Manager level 6 apprenticeship which includes a university degree.  This can then be followed by the level 7 Masters Degree.

Alongside these, completing participants can choose to continue their CMI membership and use the letters MCMI after their name.  Those achieving Chartered Manager status become a CMgr MCMI.