MBA Apprenticeship success for our Director of housing Sam Allcott 

Samantha originally joined the income team at South Staffordshire Housing Association in 2009 as an Income management team leader. After rising through the ranks, she was appointed Director of housing at Housing Plus Group in 2021. 

“It had been a while since I’d done any formal qualifications and I was keen to progress my career. After getting some professional advice around my CV, I was advised that there was a professional qualification missing. 

“I worked with the Learning and Development team to source some suitable options and we found the Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Staffordshire University”, Samantha explains. 

Samantha studied for the MBA while also completing a Level 7 Senior Leadership apprenticeship – all while getting to grips with her new demanding role as Director of housing.  

Fitting in her studies around her work commitments, Samantha would attend weekly webinar sessions on her lunch break and spend two study days at the university every semester. 

“It was really manageable in terms of fitting the studying around my work. In this new world of Teams and Zoom calls, it was easy for me to be able to attend the lectures. It was very different to my first degree which was more traditional and classroom based. 

“It was something to get used to, but it was very beneficial. I wouldn’t have been able to manage it if I had needed to attend university for every lecture,” she says. 

Studying for these high-level leadership qualifications brought immediate benefits for Sam and the organisation, when she was promoted to Director of housing. 

“It was amazing timing for me, everything I learned on the apprenticeship I could apply to my role and vice versa. It was like I was being coached in the first years of being in this job, everything I was learning was very relevant to my role.   

“It’s made me a better manager and a better leader and I feel more confident in my position.” 

Before starting the qualifications, Samantha says she was very nervous about going back to the classroom.  

“I thought I might be too old or not clever enough or that everyone else on the course would be younger and better than me. But everyone was in the same boat. 

“I’ve met people from other sectors and from within our sector too. There were people from the County Council and NHS, so I made some great contacts.” 

Samantha says fitting in the studies around her busy job was also challenging.  

“When assignments were due, it would often be the case that things were busy at work and at university. It was tricky to juggle and you must be very organised. 

“Executive director of housing and care, Les Clarke, was my mentor throughout the apprenticeship and he was a fantastic support.” 

All of Samantha’s juggling and hard work paid off when she graduated in July. She said: “I felt really proud. It was a lot of work and very challenging, but we all supported each other on the course through the two years.  

“All that hard work made me feel even more proud that I’d managed to do so well.” 

Housing Plus Group is committed to supporting the professional development of our colleagues.