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The MSD Advance Development Programme

The MSD Advance Programme gives you the opportunity to study for a range of professional qualifications whilst developing those supporting skills and behaviours to improve your performance at work.

Benefits

A key objective of our MSD Advance Development Programme offering is to grow and develop our employees through the integration of both professional skills and qualifications. Apprenticeship programmes provide existing employees the opportunity to up-skill or even re-skill in a targeted capability that directly relates to an employee’s job role.

Team Support

By taking part in the MSD Advance Development programme, you will have commitment from your manager, your team, and MSD. This will help you prepare towards a great future in the organisation.

Enhance Your Skills

Apprenticeships are more than just a qualification. They give you the chance to apply what you have learnt in a working environment, helping you to advance your personal development.

Online Resources

By using digital learning environments, you will be able to access course content, additional learning resources and online support.

Choice of Qualifications

You can study for a qualification during working hours, with courses ranging from Level 3 (equivalent to A-Level) through to Level 6 (Degree) and Level 7 (Masters).

Expert Support

You will be supported by a mixture of experts, dedicated coaches, and tutors throughout the programme.

Protected Learning Time

MSD is investing in your development. A minimum of 20% of your work time is required in order to gain the qualification.

Programmes

At MSD we believe in the continued professional development of our people to allow them to reach their full potential and build those key capabilities that contribute to the success of our organisation.

Leadership & Management

Managing at MSD

Level 3

Managing teams and projects to meet MSD’s goals.

Managers are critical to every organisation’s operational efficiency, financial performance and the experience of our customers.

The Managing at MSD programme will help you apply management best practice in your organisation, increasing your own effectiveness and your team’s productivity.

Eligibility:

Job grade P3/P4/M1/M2 + aspiring managers

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Chartered Management Institute Level 3 Diploma in First Line Management

Cost: £5,000

Duration: 13 Months

*Programme provided by Corndel

Leadership & Management

Leading at MSD

Level 5

A career focused business education programme for managers, delivered within the workplace.

Throughout this programme you will be developing intellectual and practical skills to equip you with new thinking and approaches that will build on your existing competencies.

Eligibility:

Job grades P4/P5/M2/M3

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Chartered Management Institute Level 5 Diploma in Management Leading

Cost: £9,000

Duration: 13 Months

*Programme provided by Corndel

Leadership & Management

Senior Leader Development

Level 7

The prestigious Senior Leader Development programme provides a transformative and personalised development journey from an internationally renowned University, integrated with one-to-one mentoring and support through Corndel’s award-winning coaching model.

The programme is designed for managers, typically with 5+ years’ professional experience, looking to build the strategic and commercial skills needed to succeed and progress as leaders. This course is also suitable for managers who have undertaken a Level 5 Corndel Diploma programme.

Eligibility:

You cannot be funded if you already have a qualification at the same level or above, in this subject area.

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Corndel and Imperial College Business School Executive Development Diploma 

IfATE Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship Standard 

CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice

Cost: £14,000

Duration: 14 Months

*Programme provided by Corndel

Business Acumen

Business Administration

Level 3

Business administrators may work independently or as part of a team. Key responsibilities will include developing, implementing, maintaining and improving administrative services.

With a focus on adding value, contributes to the efficiency of an organisation, through support of functional areas, working across teams and resolving issues as requested. The flexibility and responsiveness required allows the learner to develop a wide range of skills.

Eligibility:

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Business Administrator Level 3 Apprenticeship

Cost: £5,000

Duration: 15 Months


*Programme provided by BPP

Business Acumen

Business Change Professional

Level 4

Designed for anyone looking to acquire the skills required to manage process improvements, digital transformation and significant change projects.

Eligibility:

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Imperial College and Corndel Business Change Professional Level 4 Diploma

IfATE Level 4 Business Analyst Apprenticeship Standard

Cost: £18,000

Duration: 12 Months
*Programme provided by Corndel

Business Acumen

Data Professional

Level 3

Develops the practical skills and knowledge needed to better understand and translate your organisations data insights into meaningful action.

To enable professionals from a variety of functions to gain the critical knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to understand business intelligence and use that information to inform decision making.

Eligibility:

You will be invited to complete a short aptitude assessment to assess your suitability for the programme. This will include a short assessment of your understanding of statistics and probability.

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Level 3 Data Technician Apprenticeship Standard

Cost: £12,000

Duration: 14 Months
*Programme provided by Corndel

Business Acumen

Data Analyst

Level 4

Designed for people who are looking to gain advanced technical data analytical skills.

This programme will enable you to create more advanced performance dashboards and to manipulate, manage and analyse large volumes of data and multiple data sets. This programme also includes instruction in coding and analytical techniques such as classification, clustering and regression. 

Eligibility:

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship Standard

Cost: £15,000

Duration: 18 Months

*Programme provided by Corndel

Marketing

Marketing Foundations Programme

Level 3

Supporting customer focused marketing activities through awareness raising and/or perception building.

Eligibility:

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Marketing Assistant Apprenticeship

CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing

Registration as an Affiliate Member with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Cost: £7,000

Duration: Typically, this apprenticeship will take up to 18 months to complete (plus End Point Assessment)


*Programme provided by Cambridge Marketing College

Marketing

Marketing Executive Programme

Level 4

Help to shape, support and deliver marketing plans, working in conjunction with Senior Marketing team members.

Eligibility:

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved:

Marketing Assistant Apprenticeship

CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing

Registration as an Affiliate Member with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Cost: £6,000

Duration: Typically, this apprenticeship will take up to 15 months to complete (plus End Point Assessment)

*Programme provided by Cambridge Marketing College

Leadership & Management

Project Management

Level 4

To develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours of someone who needs to manage both small and large projects.

Eligibility:

This programme is ideal if project management has been identified as a core capability that you need to develop, and forms a key part of your role.

You will need to meet some Government eligibility criteria.

Qualification achieved: (for this programme, you have the option on whether you sit your APM exam)

Corndel Diploma in Project Management

Project Management Apprenticeship Standard 

APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)

Cost: £7,000

Duration: 13 Months

*Programme provided by Corndel

Interested In Other Qualifications?

Get in touch

Speak to us if you have a development need that you think can be supported through an apprenticeship standard.

If you are interested in a Corndel programme and would like to attend a briefing session before submitting an application – please complete the following form.
If you are interested in one of our other programmes and would like to attend a briefing session before submitting an application – please contact msdadvance@msd.com

Complete Form HERE
Programme Application DeadlineLaunch Date
Business Change Professional19 December 202418 February 2025
Data Analyst 13 January 202527 February 2025
Data Professional10 January 202525 February 2025
Data Professional18 April 202510 June 2025
Managing at MSD13 January 202525 February 2025
Leading at MSD04 February 202518 March 2025
Senior Leader Development03 January 202520 February 2025
Senior Leader Development21 February 202510 April 2025
Senior Leader Development09 May 202526 June 2025
Project Management31 January 202520 March 2025
This table shows the current cohorts available throughout 2025, alongside the application deadlines for the provider and the programme launch dates.
*Cohorts will frequently be added*

Please discuss your development plan with your manager before applying, as their support and application endorsement will be required.

After submission, your application will be reviewed and our external provider will follow up with you on your eligibility status, along with instructions on how to proceed.