A programme designed for women aspiring to leadership roles

Programme Overview

This 18-month programme is designed for women who aspire to, or are currently working in, senior management and leadership roles. As an open apprenticeship companies are not required to put forward a cohort of learners and individual applicants are accepted. The programme will provide the skills to navigate challenging situations and organisational cultures, develop the skills and confidence to lead effectively and handle situations which are often invisible to others  This is a programme designed for, and delivered by, women who have held, or still work in, senior roles in male-dominated organisations. It is a highly participative programme over an 18-month period. Delegates who attend this interactive and self-reflecting learning journey will develop and increase their skills and confidence as leaders, able to respond to difficult situations and maximise opportunities to share their point of view and leadership experiences in a learning environment that has direct relevance and personal impact.

We have always supported our learners individually with regular coaching and with ILM’s on-line Get to Gateway platform packed with content, e-learning and videos and this continues to be part of the experience.

As well as being engaging and experiential, our results are great. So far, 100% of our apprentices have passed their EPA with 60% of them achieving a DISTINCTION and 98% of them achieving a MERIT or DISTINCTION!

Enrolling managers on apprenticeships could give them a real sense of purpose and focus, help them to remain in the best possible mindset to deal with the challenges to come and improve their skills ready for future challenges.

One-to-one coaching 

As part of the programme, delegates will be supported by one-to-one coaching. The objectives of each of the coaching sessions are:

• To analyse diagnostics and 360° feedback and provide a clear starting point for leadership development

• To support individual women in the development of their leadership style

• To maximise the learning taken from the programme and applied in the workplace

• To complete record of learning applied in the workplace and end-point assessment

• To identify obstacles preventing individuals from achieving their PDP and devising strategies for overcoming these.

Individuals will have monthly coaching sessions throughout the 18 month programme.  

One-day workshops:

• Developing your leadership brand

• Leading others

• Collaborating and influencing strategically

• Confident communication in challenging situations

• Developing your teams

• Leading your business and navigating culture

• Managing and delivering cross-functional projects

• Driving personal and professional change

By the end of this programme learners will have…

• Explored current leadership thinking and models, and gained tried and tested techniques

• Developed greater confidence and a deeper understanding of their own personal leadership brand

• Created a robust career plan in conjunction with their leadership stretch coach

• Developed a network of like-minded peers sharing their leadership journey

• Achieved a level 5 leadership apprenticeship qualification

Programme components:

• Welcome pack and pre-reading, self-assessment materials

• x5 one-day workshops

• Monthly one-to-one coaching sessions

• Psychometric report

• Online learning materials and reading

• Live personalised development plan

• Additional online masterclasses

Leaders collaborate closely with employers to devise an ambitious, imaginative & effective curriculum that successfully prepares apprentices for employment. Facilitators use examples & case studies from a broad range of settings to challenge apprentices to think about circumstances beyond their immediate experience. This prepares apprentices very well for the next steps in their careers at their current employer or elsewhere.

| Azesta Ofsted Report 2020