The supporter becomes the supported!

How I began a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship as an LLC staff member — and how it inspired me to move forward in my career.

Jenni (seated on the left) was Adult Learners Officer at the LLC until November 2023.

In my previous role as Adult Learners Officer at the Lifelong Learning Centre, University of Leeds (LLC), I regularly co-delivered a session called ‘Studying as a mature student’. This is one of a range of free events for prospective students regularly offered by the LLC, and aims to provide information to potential adult learners and bust myths about higher education.

The session covers what we’ve found to be the four main reasons why people over the age of 21 might want to return to education:

• Doing a job you dislike and wanting to retrain to do something different
• Doing a job you like but wanting to progress
• Having children who are at the right age for you to be able to do something for yourself
• A ‘major life event’ such as bereavement or health issues

I fit into two of these categories. I realised recently that I wanted to progress in my career and thought life is too short to wonder ‘what if?’, so I decided to take the plunge and apply for the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) taught by the LLC.

You can do this…I can’t do this

I supported many students in my decade-plus working at the LLC, often using phrases like ‘you’re never too old to go to university’, ‘you are clever enough’ and ‘you can do this’. But when I had my interview for a place on the CMDA, I found I was having exactly these kinds of doubts about myself! I was reassured by the programme manager however — and before I knew it I’d received an unconditional offer for a place on the course.

The iconic Parkinson Building at the ‘front’ of the University of Leeds campus on Woodhouse Lane.

I felt I had an advantage in that I knew a lot about the University campus and the systems it uses…but I felt out of my depth when it came to everything else. During Kickstart, the pre-entry academic skills programme that all incoming LLC students are encouraged to engage with, I went back and forth on whether I could actually go back into education.

I remember in one of the first sessions we were asked to read something in five minutes before discussing the content. Straightaway my mind went to the place of ‘I am such a slow reader, I will never do this in 5 minutes!’. I wasn’t even taking the time to read — I was just panicking. Then I heard one of my classmates say they were a slow reader too, and instantly felt better.

Before long we were learning management theories and approaches, as well as accounting. I know many people struggle with Maths and this is something I experience too. Similar to the ‘reading incident’ in the first week, I started to spiral into a narrative of ‘I can’t do this’ when in accounting class. But then I remembered what LLC staff always tell our students — if you’re struggling with anything, reach out! I did exactly that and I’m so glad I did.

Teaching in small groups — rather than in large lectures — is the norm on many LLC courses, including the CMDA.

One of the accounting tutors spent time walking me through the different approaches and then I went away and worked through past exam papers until I was getting things consistently right. I even took some on holiday and started to enjoy getting the answers right and working out where I was going wrong when I didn’t. When the accounting exam marks came through, I couldn’t believe it — I got the best marks I’ve received so far and I felt so proud of myself. I’d worked hard and got an amazing result. Maybe I could do this!

Hard works pays off

I have carried this approach over into my other modules. I’m seeing how hard work pays off and it feels so good. In my first written assignment I took on board the feedback I’d received and made an appointment with one of the LLC’s academic skills tutors to get advice on improving my analysis and ‘polishing’ my essays. It was great to be given useful, applicable tips to make my work better. I’d been telling students for years that it’s possible to get better at academic writing having never actually managed it myself — but now I can say it’s true, you can!

I’m now in my second year on the course and and I genuinely don’t know where that time has gone.

Expectations exceeded

The main things I wanted to get out of the CMDA course were the opportunity to meet new people, learn from others, start to believe in my academic ability and be the best manager and leader I can be. It’s definitely hit the mark with the first three. I’ve enjoyed getting to know my coursemates; everyone works in different organisations which adds so much depth to our discussions in class. I am actually doing this, and doing it well.

When it comes to being the best manager and leader I can be, I didn’t expect to get so much out of the course in terms of professional development. I never thought it would also give me the confidence to explore other career options and I have now progressed into another role in another organisation. I reflect more regularly now, and this has benefited everything I do. I can see how module content connects to my daily work and having to supply evidence as part of the apprenticeship helps me to see how and where I’m adding value to my organisation. I may not be the best manager and leader I can be yet — but I feel that the course is going to get me there.

I love being able to say that I’m academically able, and I’m so excited for the remainder of my CMDA!

If you’d like to find out more about the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) offered by the University of Leeds, please feel free to email the programme team with any questions you have at llc-apprenticeships@leeds.ac.uk.