Alex Whitfield

South-African-born Alex Whitfield began his leadership journey in the UK, where he completed his GCSEs and A Levels at Stonyhurst College before securing a competitive apprenticeship in 2022 with BAE Systems aged 18.

During his time with BAE Systems, Alex completed both CMI Level 5 and Level 6 Diplomas in Management and Leadership with NLT Training Services, the latter achieved in just six months.

Two businesses in very different sectors have already benefitted from Alex’s CMI journey – BAE Systems and, since October 2025, Cansaf, a tourism and hospitality business based in Zimbabwe.

 At BAE Systems, he used his CMI learnings to bring structure and clarity into complex procurement projects, particularly during programmes where effective stakeholder engagement and decisive communication were essential. The course strengthened his confidence in leading tasks, managing risks and coordinating multiple moving parts, all of which directly enhanced project delivery. This contributed to him being awarded BAE Systems 2024 Employee Impact Award for Project Management.

Alex’s CMI journey showcases the power of the programme’s practical tools and recognised standards as essential drivers of long-term organisational success and adaptability in a dynamic environment. 

Why Alex chose CMI

It was with an eye to the future that prompted Alex to embark on CMI Level 6. His Level 5 was part of his apprenticeship, and the experience motivated him to continue to Level 6.

He explained: “I knew that in the future I would be managing and leading teams and operations, so the leadership and management skills from CMI Level 6 would be invaluable.”

Learning experience with NLT

Alex chose to complete his CMI Level 6 in just six months – a time frame he set himself ahead of returning to Zimbabwe to take up a new role.

He fit his study around a demanding and complex full-time role as a Project Procurement Coordinator at BAE Systems and also pursuing his Private Pilot Licence.

“I liked the self-study aspect. Although it was a challenge doing it alongside a full-time role. It often involved long evenings of study and writing assessments, but my employer gave me some dedicated study leave which made it easier,” Alex explained. 

Throughout the programme, Alex was guided by his NLT mentor Dawn Reay who observed significant growth in his communication, strategic thinking and confidence, qualities which he applied in his role.

She said: “I noticed a very positive change in Alex’s decision making will studying Level 6. He became increasingly confident in managing procurement milestones, supporting multiple projects simultaneously and proactively resolving issues before they escalated. His ability to integrate academic learning into practical delivery strengthened both his performance and his contribution to the wider team.”

Applying the learning

Alex consistently translated his Level 6 learning into tangible improvements in his day-to-day performance.

He demonstrated an impressive ability to take theoretical concepts such as strategic decision-making, leadership behaviours, communication frameworks and risk-based prioritisation and apply them directly to the fast-paced environment of project procurement.

During critical ship repair and quick-turnaround projects, he showed noticeably improved confidence in stakeholder engagement, clearer communication and a more structured, leadership-driven approach to coordinating procurement activity.

Returning to Zimbabwe

In October 2025 Alex returned to Zinbabwe, where he took on the role of project manager at Cansaf. Within the role he oversees the end-to-end delivery of luxury corporate travel experiences across Southern Africa for large charter groups.

Cansaf is already seeing the benefits of CMI Level 6 within the business, saying: “Alex has begun to utilise his strategic planning, organisational skills and leadership behaviours to coordinate hotels, events, restaurants and activity programmes with precision and professionalism. We recently had a large group of 84 tourists from the UK and Alex was thrown straight into the deep-end, coordinating events, planning itineraries and importantly being an ever-helping presence with the group of tourists.”

Alex’s advice to CMI learners

“Time-block your calendar specifically to get the studying and assignments completed. Whether you take six months or two years, if you set aside times each day or each week and stay motivated to get it completed then it is achievable.”

Discover more

To learn more about how NLT can help you incorporate CMI’s industry-recognised Leadership and Management qualification alongside your current role in the workplace, call Sarah Temperton on 0333 8803540 or email us at enquiries@nlt-training.co.uk