Stuart Cameron appointed Managing Director of Commercial Operations at University Centre Quayside @UCQltd

Stuart Cameron has been appointed Managing Director of Commercial Operations at University Centre Quayside (UCQ), which recently launched its Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA). 

Stuart will be responsible for leading UCQ’s national expansion programme and attracting candidates to UCQ’s six regional centres by raising awareness of the CMDA and its benefits among individuals and businesses, and developing strong professional links with employers and other key industry stakeholders.

As one of the first independent higher education institutes being encouraged by Government through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, UCQ’s CMDA has been designed to work closely with employers to minimise impact within the workplace by providing greater flexibility than traditional higher education institutes.

Stuart brings many years’ experience of being an employer having founded and led two market leading businesses, won awards for entrepreneurship, turned failing companies around, managed the difficulties of company closure and selling businesses along the way.

More recently Stuart led the training arm of the $50 billion Danish conglomerate, Maersk, in the UK, helping to establish it as the world’s leading provider of training and education programmes to the wind energy sector.

Commenting on his new role, Stuart said,

“There is still an enormous challenge to educate businesses about the benefits qualified managers can bring in terms of improved business performance and productivity.

“According to research by the Chartered Management Institute, four out of five British managers hold no formal qualifications in management. This under investment in the development of necessary management skillsets is widely believed to be one of the key reasons for the UK’s lagging levels of productivity as compared to the other G7 economies, and is a major factor behind the introduction of the CMDA.

“I can understand why there has been a reluctance to send an employee on a traditional management degree course due to the disruption it can cause in the workplace while they are studying. That is why we have drawn on our previous employer experience to design a work-based programme which suits the business by providing greater flexibility.

“Students can attend sessions at a UCQ regional centre, an employer’s facility, participate in live webinars or mix and match according to work commitments. Each student will also have a mentor who will work alongside them and their employer for the duration of the course to ensure the most suitable programme for both parties is arranged.

“I am blessed to have held senior leadership roles within the Maersk Group, and benefitting from huge investments in my own leadership development, including being funded through an MBA programme. I appreciate that a stumbling block for many organisations can be the cost. However many companies are still not aware that in many instances, the full cost of degree apprenticeships can be wholly funded utilising payments they are already making into the Government’s Apprenticeship Levy.”