Taking time to develop

Published on : 5/29/19
  • When Sodexo recently added the CIPD professional development course to their range of apprentice offers, Ruth Mullin, head of Talent Management, thought it was just the opportunity she'd been looking for.

    Given I’ve been in the same role for around five years I’d been looking for a course or qualification that would add value to my role, provide challenge and stretch my brain whilst also being a recognised qualification in the field of talent/HR. Although having a full-time job and two children didn’t allow much time to invest!

    Last year Sodexo held nearly 350 training sessions in the UK & Ireland and had close to 7000 e-learning sessions completed, so add these to the numerous specialist webinars and podcasts you can listen to there is a wealth of information and development opportunities available, for me it was just a case of finding the right one. So when I heard about the CIPD opportunity it sounded like a good solution.

    After a couple of meetings and reading the information I decided to sign up - eight assignments and one final assessment over 18 months. This was maybe a bigger commitment than I was initially looking for; however the course is all online, with recorded webinars and regular meetings over the phone, so a perfect fit for me.

    This is the first time Sodexo has been able to offer CIPD professional development through apprenticeships, we have circa 557 Levy apprentices in England, 51 non-Levy apprentices outside of England and we offer 40 different programmes - there were seven of my colleagues who decided to take on the CIPD opportunity also.

    I’m now half way through; so am I glad I started it?

    It hasn’t been easy, mainly due to lack of time and work often taking priority over assignments, I’m supposed to spend one day a week on my CIPD but some weeks that just doesn’t happen and I end up spending weekends or evenings on it. Maybe that’s just me though; I should look at a time management course next!

    However, I am really enjoying the course, it does add challenge, has woken up my brain and selfishly I’m enjoying taking time out just for me. The fact it’s so flexible is a huge benefit and as it’s a recognised qualification you know it will be worth it at the end. I’m really pleased to have started the course and am looking forward to completing it later this year, although I may look at starting something else!

    If you are interested in a career journey with Sodexo, visit our Careers page to find out more.