• Postgraduate
  • Apprenticeship

Sustainability Business Specialist (Integrated degree)

Apprenticeship certificate Level 7
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Overview

Overview

This Sustainability Business Specialist (Integrated degree) apprenticeship is geared towards motivated individuals seeking to understand how business undertakings can be assessed within the knowledge of sustainability.

The course will provide you with a unique opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and behaviours to progress your career while upskilling yourself in business sustainability issues.

Whether you are in an established role or aspiring to understand how to manage and lead business sustainability issues and build innovative solutions, this is the course for you.

What is an integrated degree apprenticeship?

An Integrated degree apprenticeship combines an apprenticeship and a Masters degree. It includes a credit-bearing end-point assessment (EPA), that marks both the end of the apprenticeship and degree programme which the student must pass to achieve both. The EPA for the Sustainability Business Specialist apprenticeship/Masters is graded: fail, pass, merit or distinction. (Please note, apprentices must complete 180 credits to secure a MSc Business Sustainability Management)

Please note, the course is subject to approval.

Gold Standard Apprenticeship

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Employers we work with

Employers we work with

  • West London NHS Trust
  • Berkshire Healthcare NHS foundation  
  • London Borough of Hounslow
  • GSK
  • St Georges Hospital
  • Travelex
  • Heathrow
Requirements

Requirements

Requirements for apprentices

Typically, entry requirements are a 2:1 or 1st class honours degree or integrated master’s degree in any subject. Alternatively professional qualification and relevant work experience will be considered.

English and Maths

Before taking the end-point assessment, all apprentices on apprenticeships at level 3 and above must achieve level 2 English and maths (equivalent to GCSEs at grades A* to C or 4 -9). You can take these qualifications at the university while on the apprenticeship.

If you do not have evidence of these qualifications, then we strongly recommend you achieve these before you start the apprenticeship.

For applicants living in London*, we have free courses-please see information here:

Open the door to new career possibilities with our free courses in Maths and English (uwl.ac.uk)

*You must be able to meet the eligibility criteria.

If you have an overseas qualification, we will check this for its UK equivalency during your application and let you know what you may need to do to meet the requirement.

Eligibility

All apprenticeships starting from 1 August 2021:

Eligibility is subject to Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Apprenticeship Funding Rules. Over the duration of the apprenticeship, you must meet the eligibility requirements in place at the time, including:

  • Have the right to work and study in England
  • Spend at least 50% of your working time in England; and
  • Are a UK citizen and have been ordinarily resident for the last three years in the UK or meet one of the following immigration statuses:

UK and Irish Nationals: have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for the three years before the first day of the start of the apprenticeship.

EEA nationals: have either pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme; and have been ordinarily resident in the EEA, Gibraltar, or the UK for at least the previous three years before the first day of the start of the apprenticeship.

Non-EEA nationals: you are eligible if you have permission from the UK government to live in the UK, (not for educational purposes) and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the first day of the start of the apprenticeship.

Please check the guidance for further clarification, particularly for information on:

  • Family members of UK and EEA nationals
  • Individuals with certain types of immigration status and their family members
  • Asylum seekers
  • Other immigration status.

You can also contact the Student Admissions Team admissions@uwl.ac.uk if you require further clarification.

Course detail & modules

Course detail & modules

As ever, the successful innovator fares best, and our Sustainability Business Specialist apprenticeship provides an in-depth understanding of the practical processes that support sustainable enterprises.

This Level 7 course will provide you with a platform to evaluate the coordination of businesses with the environment, assess productive innovations and develop global management leadership.

This course will include specialist skills around organisations' environmental, social and governance (ESG) management, whether established ventures or business start-ups. 

Across the course you will:

  • learn about the key environmental, social and business concepts and frameworks of business (international and national frameworks) 
  • evaluate and implement problem-solving techniques from innovative technics within local and global public policies on business sustainability.  
  • examine and assess interdisciplinary knowledge in tackling the complexities around sustainability issues in a business context (real business cases)  
  • investigate practical applications in tackling the complexities of sustainability issues in a business context, and practice pitching your solutions.

Course subject to approval

Approval is the formal process by which the University ensures that the proposed design, content and delivery of a course will provide a high quality learning experience for all students.

Compulsory modules

  • Principles of Business Sustainability

    Businesses are fundamental stakeholders in promoting and achieving a sustainable future around the solutions to environmental degradation, social inequality and economic poverty. Hence, there is a growing need for experts with equipped knowledge and practical skills to overcome the challenges faced by businesses in embedding sustainability into business purpose, values and practice. The module will provide students with a fundamental understanding of business sustainability.

  • Principles of Sustainability Communication and Delivery

    This module helps students understand effective communication's role in achieving sustainable outcomes. The module allows students to identify a range of tools needed in informing, consulting and engaging with internal and external stakeholders in achieving milestones and targets that can improve sustainability performance. The module also helps students identify key project management techniques that, when used, can deliver sustainable outcomes. 

Compulsory modules

  • Economics and Business Sustainability

    This module allows students to evaluate the relevant economics tools in business sustainability cases. Evaluate economic efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and role appraisal in sustainability decision-making. The module also allows for the application of economic appraisal metrics such as benefit, cost ratio, net present value, internal rate of return and cost-effectiveness ratio. Able to apply and understand economic appraisal in a spreadsheet environment analysis. Able to debate the relevance of economics in the context of sustainability.

  • Environment and Business Sustainability

    An effective understanding of the environment and sustainable practices of business is key to improving business performance. It also provides knowledge, critical application, and interpretation of the fundamental principles of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, carbon and water footprints. The module will provide a critical evaluation of sustainability claims of products, services and policies using environmental assessment methods across sectors.

Compulsory modules

  • Leading Sustainable Business and Change Management

    The module provides students with a holistic approach to sustainability, management and leading change. Understanding the social, economic, philosophical, political, technological and regulatory environment and potential levers to drive change. Evaluate and apply continuous improvement techniques to drive the sustainability agenda within the organisation. Understanding and outlining the principles of change management across sustainable stakeholders.

  • Sustainable Social Entrepreneurship

    The module helps students to understand the fundamentals and critical application of intrapreneurship as an employee for a business. The module helps students to understand the different social or community contributors to business entrepreneurship. Evaluates the factors, both environmental and intrinsic, that can impact business activities within the community and external corporations.  Understand and apply key measures of the effectiveness of social enterprises.

Compulsory modules

  • Sustainable Innovations in Business Operations

    The module provides students with a practical understanding of business sustainability and risk assessment. Evaluates and understand the business sustainable supply chain. Analyse Global Team operations and response to sustainability issues.

    Understand and apply the organisational context of the sustainability challenge and identify and engage with an appropriate range of stakeholders, change agents and sustainability champions. Identify and apply the new innovations in business sustainability and frameworks and become a sustainability expert.

  • Work-based Project

    Upon successfully reaching the gateway requirement of 140 credits, including the above module, apprentices will undertake a 40-credit work-based project.

    This final project comprises business sustainability research on specific company data assessment and practical business sustainability recommendations towards the End Point Assessment (EPA).

Teaching & learning

Teaching & learning

a man with his hands folded over a laptop. You can only see his arms and the laptop keyboard.

Study mode

The course is delivered in a hybrid format and will be delivered both on and off campus

Duration

18-24 months training period including end point assessment

Location

St Mary’s Road Ealing/Paragon Campus Brentford.

A group of business professionals smiling and having a meeting in an open plan office.

How you will be assessed

All module assessments are aligned with work-related issues and in accordance with the knowledge, skills and behaviour of the Apprenticeship standards.

Apprentices will be encouraged to apply a theoretical understanding of the real business issues set within the assessments.

The final 40-credit project will provide critical research on business sustainability.

A business meeting with a group of five individuals standing in an office space.

Course work/exams required

There is one assessment per module, which is summative – the marked element of the assessment.

There will be several elements within the assessment, but they will be work-based and relevant, contextualised to your place of work. 

At the end of the course, there will be an end-point assessment which is graded: fail, pass, merit or distinction.

students studying in a group

Student support for this course

An Apprenticeship Support Link Tutor will provide academic support throughout the course where required.

There is also guided support from the study support team to help the apprentice build academic writing, presentation skills, and to understand the general approach to university learning.

The apprentice will also have pastoral care from the student well-being team as well as access to the student hub which provides free functional support on maths and English.

Study Support Service: https://www.uwl.ac.uk/current-students/support-current-students 

Costs & fees

Costs & fees

Costs for apprentices

Although there are no tuition fees payable by you as an apprentice, additional costs may be incurred which are outside of the apprenticeship levy funding:

  • textbooks
  • stationery
  • fines as a result of any overdue library books
  • printing/photocopying
  • travel to University(maybe covered by the employer)
  • translation of documents not written in English by a professional translator (i.e. documents used to support request for extenuation)
  • attendance at the graduation ceremony
  • professional body membership on registration.

This list is not exhaustive and other costs may be incurred. Please discuss additional costs directly with your employer.

Costs for employers

For employers, the costs of training your apprentice will usually be covered by the apprenticeship levy. Find out more about how apprenticeship funding works.

Teaching staff

Teaching staff

Hannah Sam

Dr Hannah Sam

 

 

Study & career progression

Study & career progression

Businessman counts coins with trees on top of them

This degree apprenticeship will provide you with a unique opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and behaviours to progress your career.

The course provides an upskill in business sustainability issues and builds innovative solutions with practical career roles in various environmental fields or as a sustainability manager or sustainability specialist.

On successful completion, you will gain:

  • Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Integrated Degree (Sustainability Business Specialist). 

  • MSc in Business Sustainability 

You will be eligible for:

  • Professional Accreditation - Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA)- Associate Member

Additionally, you will be eligible for most Level 7 courses in management, administration and further degree at the doctorate level in business and management.

Contact us

Contact us

Janet Rowson

Janet Rowson, Head of Degree Apprenticeships

Please get in touch with Janet Rowson to find out more about working with the University of West London as a training provider.

Please get in touch with Janet Rowson to find out more about working with the University of West London as a training provider.

Gold Standard Sustainable Apprenticeship  

This course has been selected as one of six green apprenticeships, carefully chosen in honour of his Majesty The King’s Coronation, in recognition of our crucial contribution to creating a low carbon economy by ensuring the country’s workforce is equipped with the essential skills to facilitate the transition to a net-zero future.

Read more about the green apprenticeships celebrated in honour of the Coronation: Press Release

 

Gold Standard Apprenticeship

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