Birmingham City University’s MSc in Multi-Unit Leadership, has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.
The course, which is run in conjunction with the University’s Business school (Birmingham City Business School) and Mitchells & Butler has been shortlisted for the ‘Best Original Employment Initiative’ Award by Personnel Today.
The Award ceremony which take place on 30 November at the Hyde Park Hotel is the leading event in the HR Awards calendar.
Chris Edger, Professor of Multi-Unit Leadership said: “This is recognition of the groundbreaking nature of the discipline and the course – all of us at Business School have our fingers crossed for the 30th.
The MSc is the first of its kind in the country and has been developed especially for pub operator, M&B, which operates more than 2,000 sites across the UK.
The aim of the qualification is to give regional managers extra skills to help make their pubs more successful.
M&B approached a number of universities about developing a postgraduate programme but decided Birmingham City university was the best one for the job.
The aim of the course is to improve skills such as the ability to lead several pubs, to coach managers and staff to have a greater appreciation of problems and issues that relate to running venues from a distance. The course is made up of four modules, each of which takes three days and involves a case study. Graduates can follow up the qualification with extra study to gain a Masters degree.
Chris Edger, Human Resources director for M&B said: “The sociology, psychology and economics of multi-unit leadership are not well understood here, though there are courses in the USA.
The Birmingham City University-developed course also acts as a retention device –a portable qualification, making the trade more professional. It will improve the quality of our area managers and improve our recruitment.”
Pictured: Chris Edger, Professor of Multi-Unit Leadership