Apprenticeships Checklist

To ensure a smooth applicant journey we recommend that you begin your application no later than two weeks before the application deadlines.

Our Apprenticeship starts in October, the last date on which we guarantee to consider applications submitted is usually the first Monday of September – For the 2025/2026 Academic year, this would be 1 September 2025.

The documents required to support your application are as follows:

1. A copy of your undergraduate degree certificate. If you do not hold an undergraduate degree we can review your professional industry experience against the programme requirements. You will just need to discuss your experience with the Programme Leader - Professor Henshaw. Please e-mail us to arrange a MS Teams meeting: wsapprenticeships@lboro.ac.uk.
2. An academic transcript showing the modules studied and marks attained for your undergraduate degree.
3. A personal statement which should briefly explain your motivation for studying this programme (this may have been captured during the internal selection process at your organisation).
4. A copy of your current passport.
5. A copy of your Employment Contract / Payslip detailing that you are paid at least minimum wage by your employer.
6. An employer reference on letterheaded paper / an email with a company signature strip and if possible one from your former education establishment.
7. Relevant certificates for your Level 2 English Language and Mathematics qualifications (usually GCSE or equivalent).

Please start your application as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to complete the application requirements.

To apply you will need to register and create an online account via the application portal. Once registered, you will be able to save, review and track your progress. The application process consists of 11 sections and will take approximately 25 minutes to complete.

You should specify that you are wishing to apply for a taught master’s programme and ensure that you have selected the Systems Engineering (Apprenticeship applications only) (Part Time) from the available programmes list.

Please note that you can upload your application even if you do not have all the document requirements to hand. We can only see your application once it has been fully uploaded. We require all relevant documentation before an offer can be made to you.

Once you have uploaded your documentation your application will be considered by the University’s Admissions Team, and you will be notified of the outcome.

You will receive an email with an offer to study, which may be conditional or unconditional. If your offer is conditional, you will be required to provide further information or documentation to fulfil the application requirements and receive an unconditional offer.

You should respond to any offer as soon as possible by logging into your Online Application Portal Account. On the left-hand side of this window there will be a link which reads “Reply to Offer Details”.

Once your offer has been accepted the University will generate you a Student Number, which will be sent to you via the email stated on your application – you will then be able move onto Step 3.

You will need to complete a number of forms prior to commencing the Apprenticeship. These forms will be send to you via email to complete online and they include:

1. The Apprenticeship Agreement
   This is a basic form that identifies your occupation, the standard you will be meeting, the duration of your apprenticeship and Off The Job (OTJ) training hours you will receive.
2. Apprentice Checklist and Declaration
   This form captures vital information about you that we may not obtain from anywhere else in the admissions process. The University needs this when reporting to the government to enable us to draw fees from the levy to support your apprenticeship. Please complete this and send it back to us, if you have not already, along with a copy of your contract of employment or Payslip - this is to verify your contract status with your current organisation.
3. Initial Assessment
   This document requires you, your Workplace Apprenticeship Mentor and Line Manager to evaluate your knowledge and skills against the apprenticeship standard (also known as a skills scan) and disclose any relevant prior learning or learning support requirements. This form will be evaluated to ascertain your current levels of knowledge and skills to ensure you are not undertaking or duplicating learning which you have already attained.

These documents are required as soon as possible, particularly document 3, the Individual Assessment. This document must be reviewed ahead of you starting your programme in a joint discussion with your Workplace Apprenticeship Mentor / Line Manager or similarly appointed Organisational contact and either the Programme Director, Professor Michael Henshaw, Reader in MBSE (Model-based Systems Engineering), Dr Siyuan Ji or, Senior Lecturer in Systems Engineering, Dr Melanie King.

The Programme Administrators will send a Microsoft Teams meeting invite for the purposes of this meeting to take place before the induction – if you and your Workplace Apprenticeship Mentor / Line Manager cannot meet on the date specified we will try to accommodate another date in advance of the date but this meeting must take place.

The assessment made could confirm any exemptions or adjustments to your learning which would also alter the contractual and financial obligations to your employer. Our Senior Systems Engineering Team must assess each apprentice in turn and liaise with your employer on any such exemption, so your early completion of these forms will be greatly appreciated.

Once forms are returned and you have undertaken your Initial Assessment, we will be able to produce and send to you a prepopulated Training Plan which you and your Workplace Apprenticeship Mentor should review and sign as soon as possible and send back to us by 18 September 2025.

To help understand the configuration of the modules, you can review the: Systems Engineering Programme Structure in our Prospectus. You can also view the timetable.

Please note this timetable is only for the Academic Year 2025 / 2026 in its present state, whilst we aim to keep module timetables the same year on year, modules may change dates or semesters in subsequent Academic Years or even through a force majeure event. In such cases we will contact you as soon as possible to resolve the issue.

You are required to have a full plan in place at the outset of the programme, but please be reassured that the individual learning plan is a dynamic document which can be adapted to suit learner needs throughout the course of the Apprenticeship.

Please note you will automatically be enrolled onto the following compulsory modules in Year 1:

• WSP762 - Applied Systems Thinking – w/c – 06/10/2025
• WSP772 – Systems Architecture – w/c – 01/12/2025
• WSP767 – Validation and Verification – w/c – 09/02/2026
• WSP766 – Systems Design – w/c – 13/04/2026

If you foresee any issues in attending these modules, in person on campus on these dates you must let us know as soon as possible.

The Apprenticeships Team will send you a communication outlining the details of the induction including date time and location.

You will be expected to attend the programme induction in person, held at the Loughborough University campus – attendance is compulsory and unfortunately should you not be able to attend you may not be able to join the programme.

We ask that you forward the details of your induction to your Workplace Apprenticeship Mentor so that they can attend if they are able to. If they already mentor another Loughborough University apprentice, they will not be required to attend. If this is their first foray into a Loughborough University Apprenticeship Programme and/or mentoring, it would be beneficial for them to attend as there will be specific information and training relevant to their understanding of the programme.

The Induction for October 2025/26 will be held on Monday 22 September 2025 and more details will be made available closer to the time.

There are accommodation options available on campus should you wish to stay overnight instead of travelling on the day of the Induction.

Find out more about the accommodation options available on campus:

• Burleigh Court Conference Centre and Hotel – closest to teaching facilities, less than 5 minutes walk.
• Elite Athlete Centre and Hotel – on campus, 15 minute walk.
• The Link Hotel – just off campus, 15 minute walk.

Please ensure that all communications sent to you via the University are reviewed as soon as possible in the lead up to the start of your programme. You will be emailed your IT credentials which will allow you to log into the University’s Virtual Learning environment – LEARN, your student email and more.

You will also be required to complete your registration to confirm your student enrolment on the programme – this will include uploading a photograph for your ID card, which you will be able to collect in your first week of teaching if you complete the registration in enough time.

We will send you a separate log in for our Online Degree Apprenticeship Management Application – Maytas. This system will be used to track your Off the Job Hours, Progress Reviews, KSBS and Portfolio Evidence and more.

Please ensure you set up your login prior to Induction.