Following completion of the 5-day Directors Development Programme, learners can go on to further study by opting to complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership for Directors that we run in collaboration with the University of Chester.  This qualification is designed for senior people seeking to develop themselves as leaders and managers or those in middle management positions with aspirations for progression to senior leadership.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership for Directors is composed of three 20 credit modules at Level 7.  The modules are aligned to the Directors Development Programme and comprise the following:

• Governance and Finance
• Leading and Managing an Organisation
• Strategic Leadership and Marketing

Each module is assessed through a 5,000-word work-based critically reflective essay or report.  Assessment titles are agreed with your academic supervisor and the assessments can all be applied to the business situation and workplace which give you and the wider organisation a chance to learn and adapt business practice. This also allows businesses and people to apply recognised theory and frameworks to the business situation which will improve working practices and ultimately lead to business improvement.

The notional learning time for each module is 200 hours, which includes the face-to-face element, self-study, dialogue with your tutor and writing up the reflective report.

Once you have expressed an interest in completing the PG Cert and completed payment, a member of our Quality Assurance team will be in contact with instructions on how to complete the application and enrolment process with the University of Chester. Once this is complete and you are enrolled as a student, we will then put you in contact with your tutor, arrange your submission dates and send the course handbook and other relevant information.

We do encourage students to start their assignments as soon as possible after the 5-day course so that the learning is still fresh. Your academic supervisor will introduce themselves after you have completed the enrolment and application process. They will introduce you to the course and discuss possible ideas for your first assignment, essay structures and getting you started. Academic supervisors are there to support you through the assignment writing phase and to advise you in an academic context.

This is an extremely flexible programme as we have rolling enrolment process throughout the year and students are not constrained to the usual university term times and submission dates. Technically, you do have 3 years from the point of enrolment, in which to complete your assignments, however we do try to encourage students to follow the allocated submission points. There is plenty of flexibility built into the programme in the event that other commitments, such as work, may well take precedent over your studies.

All students are allocated an academic supervisor, once they start on their PG Cert journey. Our highly experienced team of academic supervisors are there to provide you with dedicated academic support throughout your studies. As well as academic support, the Quality Assurance team at In Professional Development have staff who are dedicated to supporting students on their PG Cert journey and who provide a vital link between the student and the university.

Once enrolled, students also have access to university-wide resources such as the library, Moodle and online study skills. We also hold lunchtime workshops, hosted by one of our academic supervisors, to support students on topics such as academic writing and referencing.

If students wish to carry on their studies further, then they can opt to do the full MBA (WBIS) that is offered by the University of Chester. The PG Cert in Strategic Leadership for Directors is mapped directly onto this programme so that students can offset their 60 credits gained from completing the PG Cert. This means that students will only need to complete the remaining 120 credits required for the MBA. If this path is of interest to you then we can link you with the academic team at the university, who are always happy to discuss your options for further study.