Morrisons undergraduates earn as they learn

Citation

(2012), "Morrisons undergraduates earn as they learn", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 44 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2012.03744aaa.005

Morrisons undergraduates earn as they learn

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 44, Issue 1

Morrisons supermarkets has teamed up with Bradford University School of Management to offer undergraduates a salaried job while studying for a BSc (honors) degree in business and management.

The three-year earn-as-you-learn program is a mixture of block learning at Bradford Management School, distance study, on-the-job work experience and work-based projects in the Morrisons food-manufacturing division.

The program has been designed by Julian Rawel, director of executive education at Bradford School of Management. He said: “The Confederation of British Industry and the Government are calling for university education to be more relevant to business. With university funding for extra places so stretched, I believe the concept of the corporate degree is something that every top company will want to offer.”

“The investment that businesses make in future talent will stay in their organization. Students gain the skills and experience they need for career progression, plus the enrichment of a university education, a salary, no debt and a job.”

The corporate degree builds on an existing partnership between Bradford University School of Management and Morrisons. The school advises on in-house training programs for Morrisons Academy and delivers postgraduate training for middle and senior managers who can go on to MBA study.

Norman Pickavance, HR director at Morrisons, said: “We believe it is vitally important that industry and education deliver vibrant new solutions that enable people to keep developing and gaining qualifications while they learn. We have always focused on training our own. Our former chairman, Sir Ken Morrison, who retired after 50 years’ retail experience, attended evening classes at Bradford University School of Management in the 1960s.”

Morrisons employs around 40,000 16 to 24-year-olds and has 3,500 employees set to achieve retail/ modern apprenticeships.

Morrisons owns its own supply chain, including meat-processing plants, produce-packing houses and abattoirs, meaning there is a wealth of opportunity for long-term career development on offer. The corporate-degree places are available in the manufacturing division of Morrisons.

Trainees will learn about all aspects of food manufacture at Morrisons through placements at one of 15 centers.