PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT
Diary of a student… Caitlin Sinclair MCIPPdip Payroll advisor, Oldham Hulme Grammar Schools
the work I did for my final workplace assessment is being implemented. I demonstrated how a payroll department could become a paperless office, particularly with regards to payslips. The school I work at has around 230 members of staff but even enveloping those payslips once a month can turn into a mammoth task. How did you cope with the work-life balance and your study? The work-life balance was difficult, in part as I have never been a very wordy person. I found it difficult to put my ideas on paper and expand them enough to make the 3,000 words required in the assignments. Slowly this became easier and I found I could balance everything more easily, rather than struggling to try and fit in study time either at work or at home. Did the fact that the CIPP is Chartered or recognised within the industry influence your decision to enrol with the CIPP? And were there any particular modules which were of interest prior to enrolling? I felt that the only way to do this qualification would be through a certified institution and as I was already a member of the CIPP it seemed a natural progression to study through them. For someone who is thinking about studying for a CIPP qualification, what would your advice be to them? Go for it. There is nothing better than getting those emails to say that you have passed each of the modules. I loved the excitement and nervousness that builds when waiting for the last one to tell you that you now have a formal qualification in the industry that we all love; it’s the best feeling in the world. n
Can you give us a brief background into your life? I didn’t study for A-levels and always felt something was missing. I passed through four jobs which were all finance related in some way, before landing a job at a local building society. During the fifteen years there I married and had three boys. An opportunity opened for a finance officer with payroll responsibilities. Learning payroll would be the new challenge I was looking for at that time. That was almost fourteen years ago and I’m now the longest-serving member of the finance team. Can you give us an insight into your career and qualifications background? My first job was as an office junior in an engineering firm, where I was offered day release to learn all about the secretarial side of running an office, which gave me my grounding in typing and administration. From there I worked in a high street bank on the counter, as a travel agent on a foreign exchange counter and then on to working as a personal assistant in an insurance company. All these lasted just under twelve months. It wasn’t until I got the job in the building society that I felt settled. Why did you choose to study the Foundation Degree? I had come to a point where I didn’t feel that there was anything else I could offer in my job. I had been on various courses – all of which were great – but didn’t actually
prove I could do my job. I also wanted to do something to prove to myself that it’s not too late to learn. (I am now heading for the big 50) My youngest son had just had his place at university confirmed and I thought it would be great if we could both study towards a qualification and graduate at the same time. My son went to Keele University to study a BA in politics, which didn’t help me at all really but his assistance with my assignments was invaluable. As I hadn’t any A-levels or higher, I felt that I should start with the Foundation Degree. It would prove to my employer that I could do my job properly and know what I was talking about officially. How important is this degree in relation to your career? It was very important as I needed a challenge, both during office hours and out of them. It made me think more about everything I was doing and the actual impact of what I did daily. I realised I’d worked for about ten years but didn’t have any formal training. The situation was always ‘if you want to learn about something go on the internet and watch/ join the webinars, or if there are funds available then we will see what can be done’. The degree was important because I now feel that I’m more assertive when talking about various aspects of payroll, in a way that I would never have done before. I think that I am now taken more seriously. I have since discovered that part of
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | June 2018 | Issue 41 10
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker