The Challenge
Having gained lots of HR experience in various roles over 20 years, Rachel decided it was time to get a professional qualification under her belt to build her knowledge and confidence. Working full-time as an HR Coordinator at the UK base of Sobi, a global pharmaceutical company researching rare diseases, and with a young family, she knew a flexible online course would be her best option. Reed Learning’s 100% online CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management programme fitted the bill and Rachel enrolled on the course in 2023.
The Solution
Rachel hadn’t studied since she left school so returning to education at 43 a was major step. ‘It was a long gap and initially I found the most difficult part of the course was learning how to learn again,” she explains. ‘Fortunately, I had a great tutor in Andy who was absolutely brilliant. He was always quick to respond and helped me find the answer without telling me. He gave me the confidence I needed to succeed.”
Studying fully online making full use of our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and study guides enabled Rachel to set her own timetable so she could manage her course around family life and a busy job. She even took a month off for her wedding and honeymoon and still completed the course well within the 18 months allowed.
“There is so much information on the VLE and the way it’s designed helps you work through each component of the module step by step. I got into a rhythm of how to do things so put all my notes and brainstorming on a Word document and then transferred this to the submission form once I was happy with it. This plan worked well for every assignment,” she recalls.
Rachel is part of a small HR team at Sobi and had lots of encouragement from her manager throughout her studies.
Although I did most of my studying at weekends, I had my course document open on my laptop at work all the time. If I had a lightbulb moment I could jot it down or if something happened at work that was relevant to my assignment I would make notes and use it as evidence later
The Results
Having achieved her qualification and gained CIPD Associate Membership, Rachel is proud of her success.
‘I have a lot more knowledge and feel more confident in my own abilities in my current role. I can bring more to the table and have much more confidence when speaking to management of all levels. My self-esteem has been boosted now I have completed the course and overall, the qualification has improved my work.
‘My overall experience with Reed Learning has been excellent and I can’t praise my tutor Andy enough. We agreed deadlines at the start of the course but these were just to keep me on track and there was no pressure which I liked. As a result, I always submitted my assignment at least a week before the deadline which I was really pleased about especially having not been in education for a long time,” Rachel adds.
Becoming CIPD qualified has given Rachel the skills, knowledge and confidence to be the best she can be in her current role and opens the door to further career progression.
Rachel’s tutor Andy Murphy says:
Rachel did a great job balancing work, life and studying and even managed to get married and have a honeymoon during that time. She was a pleasure to guide through the programme.
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