Discover more on the apprenticeships offered by The Open University

IBM’s Paul Milner talking with Elizabeth Hanway of The Open University

National Apprenticeship Week in England and Apprenticeship Week in Wales (3-7 February) allows The Open University to shout about the success of the apprenticeships it offers to employers, as well as their impact on learners and businesses.

Apprenticeships are aligned to the OU’s mission of providing education and progression opportunities for learners of all ages and from all backgrounds. The OU has offered apprenticeships since 2016 with programmes available in England, Scotland (its celebration of apprenticeships is in March) and Wales. More than 550 employers have chosen the OU’s flexible delivery model to upskill and reskill both new and existing staff.

Please view the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) and the Senior Leader Master’s Degree Apprenticeship (SLMDA) if you are wanting to be an apprentice yourself, or have friends and family considering starting one, or one of our alumni looking to introduce them at your workplace, or a learning and development professional wanting to know more.

Multinational IT firm IBM are among those to have chosen the OU to upskill their employees through our apprenticeships. You can see in the video below how well the CMDA and SLMDA apprenticeships work for IBM.

Please contact the apprenticeships team if you think apprenticeships could work for your company.

There is an opportunity to attend a pre-recorded webinar, ‘The impact of apprenticeships in the workplace’, on Wednesday 5 February at 10:00am. This boasts an expert panel of learning and development professionals from organisations such as DHL, Pearson, Public Health England, Unilever, Health Education England and the OU. Please register here.

Upcoming Events

Jun 2

Technology, Inclusion and Esports: Opening Up New Spaces of Participation

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 - 10:30 to 12:30

Online and and in person at The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BB

This event explores the relationship between technology, inclusion, and esports, examining how digital gaming environments can create new opportunities for participation, connection, and belonging in society and organisations.

Jul 16

Guest lecture: Fraud, Data and Emerging Risks

Thursday, July 16, 2026 - 14:00 to 15:30

Online on MS Teams

This guest lecture with Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, will provide an overview of the types of fraud currently causing the greatest harm to society and examine how advances in AI are likely to affect fraud cases in the future.

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