Human Resources Student Stories:
ICS Learn Case Study: Civil Service | CIPD Courses

Civil Servant Paul Simpson studied our Level 5 Diploma in Human Resource Management to bring additional HR knowledge and relevant grounding to his department.

I am studying for the Level 5 Diploma in Human Resources Management, which I chose as I wanted to develop my skills to assist in a change of career to HR.

Level 5 seemed an appropriate level, as I have managed people for over 15 years, albeit never within a specialised HR team.

ICS Learn was my preferred supplier as they offered 100% online study. Other organisations required classroom days involving travel, which I couldn’t commit to given my current job role and having a young family at home.

When I first logged into the ICS Learn student community, I felt very daunted by the whole thing and it took me a few weeks to feel comfortable and start to understand requirements.

Looking back, I wish I had used the support available earlier, such as student support and the various forums available.

Once I had started my assignments, I quickly became familiar and found the tutors helpful, friendly and knowledgeable when I approached them with questions.

This included requesting phone calls, as well as e-mail discussions. The webinars were crucial in understanding the expectations of each assessment and they provided the opportunity to ask questions as we went along, which was useful.

The study has helped me in my current role as I feel more confident dealing with staffing issues, particularly around the managing attendance and employment law areas.

My organisation has benefitted by having someone else with some additional background knowledge in HR management.

Having access to employment law updates has been extremely useful, as well as being able to tap into the skills of other students and tutors.

I would certainly recommend ICS Learn to anyone thinking of completing an online course and would encourage those new to the concept of online study to use the support available, rather than feel overwhelmed.

Once I was comfortable, I enjoyed my study a lot more and felt motivated to complete extra research on each topic.

I am pleased to have made the decision to study via ICS Learn and would look to complete further courses with them in future.

Find out more about developing your staff through our online professional courses.