CAREER DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT
Diary of a student…
on the BA (Hons) in Applied Business and Management straight after.
Christine Gregory BA (Hons)
How important is this degree in relation to your future career? It allows me to apply for jobs with confidence and, hopefully, will give me an edge over the competition. When applying for payroll roles I have the technical knowledge from the CIPP Foundation Degree and the wider business knowledge from the BA (Hons) in Business Management. I can see where payroll fits in within a business and how important it is for staff and management that the department is as accurate and efficient as possible. Howdo you copewith thework- life balance and include your study? It wasn’t easy to study around my three children, usually at night time or on weekends. Though I allocated and stuck to times I have pulled the odd all-nighter. I kept my goals in mind and carried on, knowing that it will greatly benefit me and my children in the future. For someone who is thinking about studying for a CIPP qualification, what would your advice be to them? Don’t be put off by the time it takes to complete the course. Once you start and take small steps one module at a time, it flies by. You can study around commitments. I really enjoyed the qualification and each module is different and interesting. It opened my eyes towards the workplace, for instance; how different leadership styles can affect performance and staff attitude; or how important effective communication is; to budgeting and project management. Both qualifications give you technical knowledge and a rounded view of how the sector plays a part in business; and pride in being able to put them on your CV. n
Can you give us a brief background into your life? On leaving high school in 2002 I studied leisure and tourism at college, but didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a career. The school’s career guidance – which focused on vocational roles such as tourism or beauty therapy or gearing pupils up to study A Levels and then onto university – never mentioned payroll/finance sector. Near the end of college studies, I got a part-time office job which is where my love for figures and processes grew. Studying AAT Accounting, I secured a job as a sales ledger clerk; but the company was small with no room for progression so I applied for a job as an assistant payroll officer in the NHS with further prospects and training. I love how payroll has a start and beginning every month and a deadline to work towards with a few technical adjustments to boot. With the guidance, patience and training of knowledgeable colleagues (namely Lynn Scholes and Gaynor Ralphson, I was promoted to payroll officer in eighteen months. I enjoyed every minute of my time there but unfortunately the NHS had to make big budget cuts and I was made redundant whilst on maternity leave. After frantically searching for another job in the sector, I got one at the Co-Operative Bank headquarters as a pension payroll advisor. However, my little boy became poorly, with bad allergies and eczema, so I gave up work to look after him when he was ten months old.
Can you give us an insight into your career and qualifications background? At the Co-Operative, I saw the difference between the public and private sectors. The latter expects their employees to have higher qualifications to back up their knowledge; and many of my colleagues were studying towards the CIPP Foundation Degree in Payroll Management. On my last working day in the Co-Op I decided to enrol on the CIPP payroll course. Knowing I’d be looking after my child for a few years I needed to keep up with the competition and have something to back up my knowledge on my return to the workplace. I also had another child, just to keep me on my toes! Why did you choose to study theMSc in Business and Reward Management? Did the fact that the CIPP is Chartered or recognisedwithin the industry influence your decision to enrol with the CIPP? The fact the CIPP is Chartered and highly regarded by my colleagues influenced me. Everyone I’d worked with in the payroll sector had heard of the Institute, and a CIPP qualification was in demand from prospective employers. The final year unit – Personal effectiveness and professional development – made me think about my career, as we had to produce a five-year career/life plan and describe ways in which we would keep our continuous development current. I realised that not being in the workplace for a few years meant I needed to continue studying to keep up to date so I enrolled
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | March 2019 | Issue 48 14
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