Pete Moody PhD MSc BSc PGCE FHEA CIPP link tutor, University of Worcester Guest address
Congratulations to you all on achieving a significant milestone in your careers. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know about CIPP until I got involved with this course. As far as I was concerned, payroll simply put some money into my bank account every month. I wasn’t aware of all that went on behind the scenes to make sure that the right amount of money went there, and that it was actually sent. And that all the deductions were for the correct amounts and went to the right places. The same thing applies to pensions – I’ve been paying into a pension scheme for quite a few years now and, in rather fewer years than that, I hope to be able to benefit from that scheme. But somebody has to take care of all that for me. I suspect most people (out there) are like me, and haven’t heard of CIPP. But the people who matter do know. Your employers know. Anybody seriously involved with payroll or pensions knows. And so they know about your qualification, and why it is important and valuable. When I passed my driving test, it was an indication that I was considered safe to go out onto the road by myself. I knew where all the controls were, and what they did. I could steer a car well enough to avoid hitting things. I knew the rules that needed to be followed. But that didn’t make me a good driver. For that, I needed experience. My vehicle control skills needed to be honed. I needed to learn how to think ahead and respond to new situations. I think you can see the analogy I’m trying to draw, but even the best analogies break down. The rules of the road are well-established, and unlikely to change much in the near future (at least, until we get self-driving cars). But the rules for payroll and pensions change at almost every budget speech. And if we get a new government, the next budget speech will probably involve more changes than usual. Your qualification is not an end in itself, but a step on the way, a milestone. You need to travel further.
Your qualification is not an end in itself, but a step on the way, a milestone.
Driving a car is a bit like teaching history – the things you are dealing with don’t change, or if they do change, it is relatively slowly.
Working in payroll or pensions is more like my main job, which is teaching computing – there is something new every six months or so. My challenges are the next version of network operating system software or the new wireless standards. Your challenge is implementing the whims of politicians.
You work for a variety of organisations, but each is like a machine. You are still a cog in that machine, but you are now a much more useful and more versatile cog.
As you acquire experience to go with your knowledge, you could start to share that with others, through mentoring of junior colleagues, through leadership, or maybe even through CIPP tutoring. There are further study opportunities open to you, to follow on from your Foundation Degree. Your career could progress into management. There are several possible routes ahead that you could take: it’s up to you to choose the one that is most appropriate for you.
So, once again, congratulations on achieving this milestone, and best wishes for the next stages in your journey.
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