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BUILD THE FUTURE – Neil masters the art of leadership with Degree Apprenticeship

10/02/2021

“Degree Apprenticeships enable businesses to bring in new thinking and ways of working whilst ensuring that it is immediate and suitable to the needs of the business.” 

Neil Anderson, Director of External Affairs at the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, is studying for a Senior Leader Master’s Degree in the University’s Wolverhampton Business School. A graduate from the University, he studied Communications, Culture and Spanish, which kick started his 20-year career working across the private, publicly funded and not-for-profit sectors.

He said: “The University remains a significant contributor to the region, acts as an enabler for so many individuals and has influenced so many areas of our lives whether professionally, economically or our very health and wellbeing. 

“As a Chamber Patron, the University is a key is key partner which supports our work and helps our members.  Personally, I am thrilled to be working with such a dynamic University from a work perspective but am now doubly excited to be undertaking this programme as it is where I began my Black Country journey as an undergraduate student in the late 1990s.

“Whilst I did a distance learning Master’s degree in communications during the early years of my career and have since undertaken a number of courses and programmes to develop core competencies, this is the first time that I have been able to reflect on my professional practices.”

The Chamber supports and helps businesses and its aim is to shine a spotlight on the benefits of working in and doing business across the Black Country region.  As an organisation, skills and development of people are vital to continued growth and productivity and the Chamber is supportive of lifelong learning, providing its employees with opportunities for further study.

Neil said: “As a learner, you have access to the latest analysis, trends and concepts and the support of the faculty whilst also having access to a support network of colleagues encouraging you to stretch yourself. 

“Learning on the job provides an ideal way to road test and apply theory and class room-based learning with real life development opportunities for individuals on priorities and objectives which matter to their business right now. 

“Businesses need to stay ahead of the game.  Their products and services need to remain relevant to their customers or users and adapt to changes in behaviour, consumption, expectations whilst also adapting to changing external factors.  Degree Apprenticeships enable businesses to bring in new thinking and ways of working whilst ensuring that it is immediate and suitable to the needs of the business. 

“Right now, all businesses in the UK – no matter what their sector or size – are facing a radically different trading environment from the one they were in a few years ago.  BREXIT and the Covid-19 emergency has meant that as leaders we need to ensure that our businesses adapt and change across all aspects of operation.  A programme such as this means that I have access to the latest current thinking, research and analysis and am readily able to apply it to the needs of my business. 

“The University has been great in terms of understanding how this programme is relevant to me as an individual and to my business.  The on-boarding process and support given by all aspects of the University’s team and faculty has been amazing.” 

Find out more about how Degree Apprenticeships can benefit you or your business: www.wlv.ac.uk/naw2021

 

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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