Congratulations to Erin Kumarasamy, a candidate of the quarter at Reed Learning.
Erin Kumarasamy had no HR experience and was working in a finance role as an accounts assistant. Just eight months later and well within the year she was contracted to complete the course, she received her Foundation qualification.
As well as working for her qualification, she has managed to change career and secure a job as an HR Administrator at Tate Modern in London. Realising both goals led to her be named as Reed Learning’s Candidate of the Quarter, an award which recognises the hard work and personal dedication of individuals who go the extra mile to achieve qualification success.
“Erin had no HR experience and was completely daunted about doing the Foundation programme before she started but she has stormed through, responding really well to feedback and is just completing. She has got herself her first job in HR and done a full diploma in seven to eight months which is a great achievement,” explains her adviser, Louise Hill.
With a background in customer service and accounts, Erin hoped that having a CIPD qualification would give her an advantage over other candidates when applying for HR roles. Her strategy worked as studying for her Foundation qualification gave her an insight into the profession which, she believes, put her a step ahead of the competition when applying for the Tate Modern role.
“I think it helped because it showed that I was passionate and dedicated to working in HR, she says.
“Having the knowledge has certainly given me a lot more confidence now that I am doing the job. I understand the theory and am now gaining the practice.”
Erin had been out of education a long time before she started studying for her Foundation qualification and chose Reed Learning online learning route so as not to have to take time off work to complete the course.
“My employer at the time didn’t know I was studying for a new career so online learning was the best option for me,” Erin explains. “My adviser Louise was very flexible and has been extremely supportive throughout the course. She is very knowledgeable and accessible, always getting back to me really quickly and calming me down when I was panicking about my studies. I had been out of education for so long and the hardest part was learning to motivate myself. Louise really helped with all aspects of my learning. I enjoyed having direction from a personal tutor.”
Erin’s aim when she started the course was to push herself to achieve at least one module per month which she generally managed to stick at throughout the programme. Now having worked for her Level 3 qualification, she is planning to start a Level 5 qualification early next year.
“I want to do all three levels of CIPD qualification but will give the studying a break for a little while to get as much experience as I can. My team at Tate Modern is really helpful in allowing me to gain as much experience as possible. I will be looking to complete my Level 5 as quickly as possible as well.
“I funded the Foundation qualification by myself, but the investment has already paid off as I have a job that I love and a career in HR to enjoy,” she adds.
Reed Learning offers a range of CIPD Fast Track programmes developed to get candidates through their chosen qualification as quickly as possible without compromising on the level of quality support.
