Jo Bristow | CIPD Level 5 Diploma

1) What made you choose Acacia Learning?

The flexibility of when and how to study. I am working full time and studying to support changing my career into Learning and Development at the same time as being a wife and mum to 2 children. Being able to flex how quickly or slowly to take modules according to my work and home life made it easier for me to juggle my priorities. This results in me really enjoying and focusing on my study instead of it being just something I had to fit around everything else.

2) What did you most enjoy about your course?

The blended learning approach and meeting such an interesting cross section of people from different industries and organisations. As I wasn’t working in HR when I started the course I learnt a lot from people sharing their experiences in the class environment which helped me relate the theory to practical examples.

3) What could be done differently?

There are some modules that are definitely beneficial to study first – 5DVP and 5CHR are quite general and strategic so think these should be learnt first to set the scene for how HR operates within business environments.

4) Who was your favourite tutor?

I was very lucky with all my tutors so it is hard to pick favourites! – Paul O’Sullivan, Kevin Haslam, Lesley Ramsay & Tristan Callaghan has to have a special mention as he made a potentially very dry subject of Employment Law such fun to learn with his gamification !!

5) Which was your favourite module?

Employee Engagement as it was really interesting and relevant for me to use my new found knowledge in my organisation.

6) How did you apply the learning to your job?

In 5DVP learning about the HR profession map has helped me understand different levels of competence. It also taught me the importance of covering all the areas of the map.

In 5UIN I chose to write the assignment about the use of Social Media in recruitment. This helped to define how my company will use this medium in their future strategy for attracting candidates.

5ENG helped me understand how important employee engagement is and how I can directly support this in my learning and development role.

7) Would you study the next CIPD level?

Yes I am interested in doing more study in the area of Coaching.

8) Where do you see your career heading?

Even though I did my CIPD diploma in HR I would like to go into Learning and Development as this is where my heart lies – helping people fulfil their potential through continuous learning.

9) What do your employers think about the course?

DDD Limited have fully supported me in my course by giving me time out to go to weekday lectures and to study for my assignments – they can see the value it is adding to my new role in the organisation and being able to support delivery of my objectives.