National Apprenticeship Week 2021

It’s #NationalApprenticeshipWeek and at NEUPC we’ve been supporting Procurement Apprenticeships since 2016.

Since then, we’ve had 21 Procurement Apprentices successfully complete their 2-year programme, with 16 still employed in university procurement today. We currently have 8 apprentices studying with us, and have capacity to support more if you’d like to explore this option for yourself or your team.

Contrary to popular belief, apprenticeships are no longer just for school leavers starting out on their career. With the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, many people already working in Procurement roles are able to study as part of their full-time role. This will enable them to gain valuable qualifications, whilst retaining their current job role. Apprenticeships are now based on occupational standards, developed by employers.

Contextualised to the Higher Education sector, students on our apprenticeship programme achieve their CIPS Level 4 CIPS Level 4 Diploma in Procurement and Supply, along with one module from the Level 5 Advanced Diploma in Procurement and Supply. In the final six months of the programme, the apprentice agrees and delivers a procurement project with their employer, receiving academic support from NEUPC. The project is externally assessed by a 5000-word project report and 30 minute presentation and questioning interview, testing a wide range of transferable hard and soft skills.

• Some of the projects delivered by our apprentices have included;
• Developing a standard operating procedure for supplier approval
• Developing a supplier feedback process
• Investigating the social value benefit of university procurement
• Embedding sustainability within the procurement process
• Developing a business case for the centralisation of supplier deliveries
• Review of promotional goods procurement within a university
• Developing tools for supplier performance monitoring
• Enhancing Supplier performance and relationship management
• Investigating Inventory management solutions for a scientific stores department
• Investigating the benefits of Supply Chain Mapping in understanding sustainability risk

Read more about our apprenticeship programme, and get in touch with Debbie Shore, Responsible Procurement and Training Manager to discuss this opportunity further.