Employer benefits and information

Businesses today are facing almost unprecedented levels of complexity. Geopolitical tensions, rapid technological advances, and the threat associated with climate change, among others, are impacting market conditions and supply chain security. Organisations are under increasing pressure to respond commercially, strategically, and at pace. 

But addressing the challenges of today also presents significant opportunity for businesses, whether its accessing new markets, building supply chains with greater resilience or creating cost efficiencies through sustainability initiatives. Organisations willing to face into the change needed today can build the markets of tomorrow, and are best placed to succeed within them.  

Our postgraduate programmes have been designed and scheduled specifically for professionals in full-time employment, building skills and knowledge that is directly transferable to their work context. This approach provides business value, as well as personal development, from the inception of the programmes. Benefits for organisations include:

• Exposure to latest thinking on resilient a business models, as well as skills development in critical and systems thinking and influencing stakeholders
• Leverage new knowledge and assignments to identify new business opportunities and develop strategic action plans for implementation
• Employees develop a strong peer network which includes potential partners, advisors and investors
• Opportunity to integrate funding into staff career development and retention plans. 

Students are actively encouraged to apply insights, bringing immediate value to organisations, in the form of innovative thinking, improved engagement, and practical business impact.  Read student impact stories to find out how this has happened in practice. 

Collaborative learning across teams

Supporting employees to undertake a CISL postgraduate programme can help organisations create lasting business value beyond individual professional development and build organisational capacity. By bringing your employees together through the programmes, you enable them to bring back to your organisation an enhanced understanding of strategic sustainability challenges and the ideas and tools needed to respond effectively.

Participants can apply their learning directly to real organisational priorities, working collaboratively to explore solutions, challenge assumptions and develop practical pathways forward. Sending multiple employees through the programme, especially across years, not only helps address current business needs, but also creates a network of informed leaders who can transfer knowledge throughout the organisation and support future transformation efforts.

Benefits of sponsoring one or two employees across multiple years include:

• Tackling complex challenges from multiple perspectives by bringing together colleagues from different teams to address shared organisational priorities.
• Developing a common language and understanding that enables more effective cross-functional collaboration and decision-making.
• Creating an internal network of leaders who can champion change and support implementation across the organisation.
• Building organisational resilience and future readiness through enhanced capability to identify and respond to emerging risks and opportunities.
• Increasing the return on learning investment by embedding expertise across multiple teams rather than concentrating knowledge in a single individual.

Whether through our Master's or Postgraduate Certificate programme, sponsoring multiple learners helps organisations build the leadership capacity, practical expertise and internal momentum needed to create long-term business value while preparing for future challenges and opportunities

Building the case for employer support 

If you are seeking support from your employer, it may be helpful to prepare the following: 

• Undertake a skills gap analysis – think through where you currently fit in your organisation and how the course will enhance the contribution you wish to make 
• Match your objectives in undertaking the programme to those of your organisation by using the curriculum content listed on our webpages 
• Share the detailed alumni testimonials as past students illustrate how the programmes have bought value for them and their organisations  
• Consider a strategic issue facing the organisation that you could analyse in more detail for the assignments – this ensures a project of direct relevance to you and results in a valuable piece of internal consultancy work for your organisation
• For Master's programmes: identify a research topic that is of relevance to the organisation and your career trajectory

Employer commitment

Students will typically benefit from having the support of their employer, or another relevant supporting organisation. This support would typically include: 

• Being released from work duties to attend residential workshops
• Providing access to data or interviewees to inform their individual assignments

Some employers may additionally choose to provide: 

• Study leave for research/writing of assignments
• Financial support towards the course fees and/or accommodation/subsistence during the residential workshops
• Opportunities to undertake personal reflection, apply the learning in practice and/or gain relevant practical experience related to the themes of the programme
• Mentorship by a senior colleague to ensure that both the employer and employee gain maximum value from the experience