Management award helps secure promotions for College candidates

Douglas McBeath (pictured above) was in a temporary promoted post as Team Leader of the Data team at the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) when he started the award. He then secured this post permanently and then moved to the post of Team Leader for the Customer Support team with the same company.

Douglas gives us an insight into his learner journey below:

“Upon settling in at the SPPA, I soon realised that I had something to offer so applied for temporary promotions at administration and first line management grades, then managed to gain a temporary Team Leader position. It was during this time that the opportunity to undertake the Management award came up. I jumped at the chance to gain some new skills and knowledge which would also, in turn, help me gain a substantive position at Team Leader level.

“I’m glad to report that I all worked out and I finally managed to pass the interview board and was swiftly asked to move from the Data Team to a more customer-facing role in the Customer Services team and again I was glad to take up the offer.

“The award helped me believe in my own ability and gave me the confidence to gain a promotion. I’ve learnt some valuable skills along the way and have a better understanding of how to be a good/successful manager. The course gave me the confidence to put myself in positions that I may not have felt 100% comfortable with, as an example, dealing with a dispute between two team members who were management grades. 

“As above, aside learning new skills during the course, it meant I could evidence the fact that I was willing to give up my own personal time to develop myself as a manager. This undoubtedly helped during the selection process and interview, as I was clearly able to demonstrate my willingness to learn and develop, as well as being a reliable and forward-thinking Team Leader.

“Giving advice on studying, I would say, as long as you have a bit of spare personal time and are able to keep picking away at the course work, there’s no reason not to undertake the course. It really will help your career prospects and provide you with valuable management skills.”

Paul Wilson (pictured above) worked for SPPA when he started his studies. He received internal promotion in a Quality Support post and has since moved on to working with the Scottish Government as a Communications and Engagement Officer in the Wellbeing department – yet another promotion

Paul, pictured above, commented on his learner journey saying:

“I signed up for the award for my own self-development and to give me a piece of work in which I could work to achieve an outcome. The opportunity was presented through the workplace, which made it very easy to sign up and I knew there would be plenty of support available.

“Some big things I took from the award were how to be an effective coach and some useful coaching models, which can be implemented in the workplace. One unit I completed was implementing change, which I found to be very useful, as I continue to work in a project environment where the work is ever-changing. Understanding the different cycles of change and how this can affect your stakeholders/team members is very beneficial.

“I feel that the Management course has had an influence in getting me to my current role, which is a more senior position to before, therefore being able to say you are undertaking/have completed an SVQ in Management shows that you are willing to learn and will bring useful skills to the role. 

“If I was to give any advice, it would be to ensure you have sufficient time to be able to balance the SVQ/work/life balance and ensure the topic is relevant to where you see your career to be heading.”

Find out more about Management courses at Borders College using the following link: https://www.borderscollege.ac.uk/course-search