Chris’s story: CIPD can transform you and your work

Education is at its best when it changes you, and allows you to view the world differently. That is what happened when NHS clinical trainer Chris Scullion studied with MOL.

The 44-year-old’s background is in nursing, but moving into a training role necessitated a change in direction and a new qualification. That’s when MOL entered Chris’s professional life, enabling him to improve his working environment.

MOL, which is one of the UK’s leading providers of professional qualifications, has been helping learners to become the professionals they want to be since 1984, and offer leadership and development courses from Level 3 all the way to Master’s qualifications. One of Chris’s colleagues had previously used MOL to gain a professional qualification, so the quality of teaching was a known quantity.

Chris said: “My colleague said they got a lot out of the course and highly recommended it, so the decision to use MOL was easy. I already had a Master’s level qualification in nursing, but I needed to bring a training and development angle to my skillset, and that’s where I thought MOL would fit in.”

Opting for the CIPD Level 3 Foundation Certificate, Chris’s choice had an immediate impact on his working life. He said: “What struck me was how the course stimulated thought – how I thought and reasoned, and also the directions that thought process can take you in. It changed my view of my working environment, allowing me to introduce new training techniques and improve my performance.”

Chris was also impressed by the course content and learning materials. He said: “The course resources were relevant and useful. I particularly liked the tablet computer you get when you sign up for the course – it made life so much easier, and you get to keep it after you finish the course.”

Chris’s demanding work life required his course to be flexible and fit in to his hectic schedule, but without sacrificing his access to course materials. Chis added: “MOL always sent learning materials in plenty of time. The support was great. I always had what I needed when I needed it.”

Achieving his Level 3 qualification has given Chris the extra dimension he needed to both expand his training role and change his workplace for the better. He said: “I want the investment in CIPD to be recognised, as I have transformed myself and the service since undertaking this course. I am confident and I have gained an insight into how I work, how learners learn and what is expected of me."

It has been no coincidence that I designed a ‘Train the Trainer’ programme for my colleagues that represented for me the major skills, knowledge and behaviours that I have developed and found invaluable over the course