Victoria May - Workforce Planning Manager, South Central SHA

I was attracted to the Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Workforce Planning as I was looking for an opportunity to expand my skills within workforce planning and this programme gave a clear focus and basis to do this.

The programme has been challenging but has provided many opportunities. The project work has opened up new channels and has supported the integration of comprehensive workforce planning in service improvement programmes.

I was expecting the learning to be a little more numbers based but the theory that I have been using is realistic and applied. I am already applying the learning that I have gained back in my organisation and will continue to do so particularly within service improvement programmes and as new organisations form, the planning of workforce is fundamental.

I have also benefited from the opportunity to network with other colleagues and to apply the academic theory whilst studying. This supports learning as all challenges are tackled and work is ongoing in the business environment and not simply on paper.

In terms of the benefits to workforce planning, the programme offers a structured approach that can be benchmarked, to support what is at times a fragmented and challenging remit.

As with all academic qualifications, it is important to be realistic on the time required to perform the programme. The reports are underpinned by a ream of background work and reading and this can be time consuming, however it is well worth the effort.

I would highly recommend the Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Workforce Planning however, I would say that it is important that people get on the programme at the right time for them and that they are in a position to commit to what is a challenging, but not excessive, workload.

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