Analysis of baseline data on MMU undergraduate students’ awareness and appetite for SBP careers

Creaby, Fiona ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-2639 (2019) Analysis of baseline data on MMU undergraduate students’ awareness and appetite for SBP careers. Research Report. Manchester Metropolitan University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The aim of this report is to help to inform the Department for Education’s strategy for the school business profession by contributing some initial data exploring the potential ‘supply’ of business professionals at graduate entry-level. In Spring 2019 a series of focus groups were held at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Business School with a small pool of undergraduate students with the aim to collate their interest in placement and graduate schemes in professional business roles in UK state schools, along with their interest undertaking sector qualifications whilst on such schemes. This report begins by outlining the context and rationale underpinning the data collection and offers a brief overview of the focus group method and the 182 participants involved. The findings present that 18.6% of participants were interested in a placement scheme in a UK state school, with 11.5% of participants also interested in undertaking a bespoke sector qualification during placement. This increased to 20.3% of all participants if the qualification was funded whilst on placement. 37.3% of all participants were interested in a graduate scheme, with 20.8% of all participants interested in undertaking a bespoke qualification as a graduate in the sector. However, this increased to 54.3% of all participants if a graduate scheme included a funded qualification, which highlights an increased appetite if a graduate scheme(s) includes a qualification pathway. Overall, a graduate scheme presented as more popular to participants than a placement scheme, with increased interest if a funded qualification is attached. The recommendation from the analysis of the data is for the Department for Education (DfE) to work with relevant sector stakeholders to explore the feasibility of developing a pilot graduate scheme and a pilot placement scheme. This would generate case studies of success to present to a wider range of undergraduate students at a variety of HEIs to ascertain wider appetite.