Lifelong learning – Uni@Work Tutors lead by example
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, Lifelong Learning is the process of gaining knowledge and skills throughout your life, often to help you do your job properly.*
However professional development is only one side of the story. Learning for personal development is equally important; indeed personal development can lead to work opportunities, just as professional development can enable personal growth.
Learning for its own sake:
- Boosts our confidence and self-esteem
- Makes us less risk averse and more adaptable to change when it happens
- Helps us achieve a more satisfying personal life
- Challenges our ideas and beliefs
- Can be fun **
One of the results of taking part in the Uni@Work Management and Leadership degree programme is that graduates are able to take responsibility for their own lifelong learning and development, using the techniques and practices they have acquired.
All Uni@Work tutors practise what they preach, continually seeking ways to develop. Most recently, tutors Kelly Moller and Kellie Sanders received their Post Graduate Certificates in Academic Practice in Higher Education (PGCAPHE) at the Coventry University Graduation ceremony at Coventry Cathedral last week.
The part-time course over one or two years is offered by Coventry University to enable academic staff to develop their professional skills and knowledge. Like the Uni@Work learners they teach, Kelly and Kellie were required to apply what they learned to their current job roles, and to consider feedback received from colleagues and learners. Both tutors are now eligible to apply to become Fellows of the Higher Education Academy.
Uni@Work delivers higher and degree-level education in the workplace, through a mix of face-to-face teaching, one-to-one coaching, online learning and self-directed study. Courses are tailored to the business and learning requirements of individual employers and employees. Undertaking the PGCAPHE course gave the two tutors an opportunity to see things from a learner’s perspective, which they found very useful.
“It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, combining study at this level with full-time work,” commented Kellie Sanders. “I really admire our learners, who do this for up to four years.”
Kelly Moller agreed: “It really gives you a sense of how much effort our learners put in, and the level of their commitment. I already knew they were dedicated, but this experience has helped me to appreciate exactly what that means.”
For more information about Higher and Degree level education in the workplace, including Apprenticeships, please contact Uni@Work.
*http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/
** http://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/lifelong-learning.html