On the academy

Business schools are being reinvigorated by the apprenticeship levy, with 40 out of 113 universities creating specific MBA courses to take advantage of the tax, according to a new survey.

Businesses are permitted to spend the money on MBAs, but only up to £18,000, compared with the typical course fee of £24,000 in the UK. Tuition fees at the top MBA providers can rise up to £80,000.

Several of the new courses, however, are stripped down to fall within the levy funding limits.

Those that back levy-funded MBAs, however, point to research by the Office for National Statistics, which concluded that a 0.1 rise in management effectiveness led to a 9.6 per cent rise in productivity.

Business schools create new courses to tap apprenticeship levy