Autumn is the new New Year!
Schools have been back for two weeks, and now it’s the turn of university students to pack in the holiday job, fill the backpack with books instead of beach gear and return to their seats of learning, filled with renewed determination.
Autumn is the time when many of us start to think about furthering our knowledge and signing up for a course of education, whether academic or practical. There’s something about the cooler air, shortening days and turning leaves that sparks a thirst for self-improvement. After the more indulgent days of summer, we feel as if we are smartening up, starting with a clean slate, and anything is possible. As Gretchen Reuben, best-selling author of The Happiness Project says: “September is the other January. Time for a new start.”
Autumn doesn’t have the same resonance for Uni@Work learners, whose study programmes can start at any time of year to suit them and their employers. However, they still participate in the general feeling of rolling up of sleeves and getting on with things, encouraged by their Learning and Development Partners (LDPs) to reflect on their personal development, their work role and how they contribute to the whole organisation.
And Uni@Work LDPs set an example by undertaking their own journeys of self-improvement. In keeping with the programme’s ethos of Continuous Professional Development (CPD), many of the team are starting courses of further study this month. Among the qualifications being pursued by tutors and other staff are:
- CMI Coaching and Mentoring Level 5
- Master’s degree in Occupational Psychology
- Higher Education Teaching Certificates
- Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship
- Project Management qualification.
Uni@Work programmes emphasise the importance of lifelong CPD, which is any type of learning which increases your knowledge, understanding and experiences of a subject area or role. It is an ongoing and planned learning and development process, and it is important because it ensures that you never stop developing your skills and competences.
Uni@Work provides Higher and Degree-level education, including Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, completely in the workplace. Programmes are tailored to the unique business needs of employers and learning preferences of employees. Substantial government funding is available. We can also advise on the Apprenticeship Levy, due to start on 6 April 2017.
Contact Uni@Work for more information.