Business Analysts help organizations deliver business and digital change successfully. Our Business Analyst apprenticeship programme is designed to cover all aspects of a business analysts’ job role and equip learners with knowledge and skills that enable them to analyze business problems, investigate and propose feasible solutions to improve operational efficiency in business organizations.
Learners will gain an understanding of how to apply recommended business analysis practices to effectively articulate needs and rationale for change, model and design solutions taking into consideration new technology trends and ethical and sustainable practices, manage business and digital change, and financially appraise solution options to present feasible proposals that deliver value to stakeholders. Academic learning will be integrated with practical training in the workplace and exposure to real-world business scenarios, enabling learners to better understand the business world and apply their learning.
This programme aligns with the Business Analyst Level 4 Apprenticeship standard and is professionally recognised by the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Chartered Institute for IT for Register of IT Technicians (RITTech).
This course is designed for professionals in private, public or third sector organisations of all sizes, who perform business analysis work no matter their job title or organizational role, looking to earn whilst working towards an apprenticeship qualification. Common job roles may include business analyst, agile business analyst, business architect, product analyst, business improvement specialist, requirements engineer, systems analyst, enterprise analyst, process analyst, or data analyst.
This course offers employers an opportunity to upskill existing employees or recruit new talent into business or project roles that require knowledge and skills to drive organizational and digital change.
Apprentices benefit from a blended learning experience that includes lectures, group workshops and flip classroom activities. Case studies will expose them to problem solving in diverse cultures and communities, and to relevant global scenarios. The programme enables learners to reflect on very relevant topics such as sustainable development, British values, ethics in business, and equality, diversity, inclusion. Learners will not only gain technical subject knowledge, but also soft skills and behaviours that are key to being effective in their job roles. The programme, and the multiple professional skills gained, will enable apprentices to become hybrid professionals and lifelong independent learners.
The course is taught over 21 months and includes 8 subject modules. Delivery will include four days of teaching per module which is taught in one week. The fifth day is allocated for revision. On completion of the modules, the end-point-assessment (EPA) is delivered over the final three months.
All apprentices are required to create a portfolio that will capture their learning journey including knowledge, skills and behaviours developed on the programme and in the workplace. This will contribute to their EPA and enables learners to reflect, plan and evaluate their development.
- Business Process Change
- Business Analysis Planning & Requirements Elicitation
- Requirements Modelling & Solution Design
- Integrated Change Management
- Work-based Learning
- Best Practices & Ethics
- Financial Analysis & Costing
- Presenting a Business Case & Proposal
The work-based learning module focuses on the non-technical learning that occurs in the workplace, building soft skills, self-appraisal, and reflection through a project where the academic learning can be applied in a business context.
Learners will undertake a range of assessments at the end of their academic modules. These will vary from individual and group work, to reports and presentations, aimed not only at reinforcing technical knowledge but also enhancing soft skills that are key for a business analysts’ job role, such as presentation and communication, business writing, articulating the message to suit different audiences, negotiation, collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking and research. Assessment and how assessments are weighted varies across modules and follows recommended academic best practices.
The EPA will typically take around three months and comprise of a project proposal with presentation and questioning, and a professional discussion underpinned by the learner’s portfolio. Learners will complete a work-based project which will bring together their accumulated knowledge. This project is undertaken alongside the learners’ normal work duties and must deliver business value to the employer.