Sue Thomas - Pg Diploma in Human Resource Management

I studied part time for the Diploma in Personnel Management. I am now a Human Resources Partner for IBM.

I gained much more from the course than the professional qualification alone. The breadth of HR knowledge I’ve acquired has played a significant part in obtaining my new role within the company.

I’d been working in Learning and Development and decided on further study to expand my overall knowledge of HR and to improve my career potential in more generalist HR roles.

Now I advise senior managers within IBM about best practice in a range of HR topics. I work with the leadership team to manage our staff effectively across the lifecycle of their career with IBM.

The Diploma has given me a sense of the wider context in which I do my job as an HR professional and a strategic view of the profession. I now have a really strong theoretical understanding and insight into different areas of HR.

Meeting other people on the course from diverse organisations was extremely useful. We spent time comparing different practices and the insights into how other places do things has improved my ability to think through the HR process in my own organisation.

I attended half a day a week at the University and we learned through a mixture of lectures, projects and group discussion. The quality of teaching was superb – the staff were absolutely excellent. Those students returning to formal education after several years’ absence received lots of encouragement and support.

It’s been hard work and you need to be very self motivated, but it’s been a hugely valuable experience for me, not just for my career development but because it makes you think more deeply and analyse why you do what you do.

Roger Metcalfe, Human Resources Director, Lockheed Martin UK Ltd

On leaving school, I concluded the University route was not for me. I thus joined the NatWest Group and progressed through the ranks over a number of years, that culminated in the completion of my Chartered Institute of Bankers Professional Qualification.

In early 1990, I decided to take a short development secondment within the Human Resources Function, but within a short period of time I was hooked on HR, that ultimately led me to study for, and complete, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Qualification through the University of Plymouth.

Over the years, in a number of progressively more senior HR roles within NatWest Life Assurance Limited, Lockheed Martin UK Ltd and General Motors, I became aware of the credibility and value of a Masters level qualification. Despite significant exposure to strategic issues within the business, I recollect being a little nervous about what I perceived was a significant academic step up from Professional Qualification to Masters level.

However, the experience of the MSC at Portsmouth was fabulous and my fears over the academic demands unfounded. I was able to apply theoretical principles gained from an appropriately pitched course to real life practice. This has added significant value in the strategic parts of my role, whilst also providing me with a more enquiring and critical approach to research and analysis. The course is a must for current, and aspiring, senior HR professionals who wish to underpin their practical experience. My supervisory support for the dissertation element was outstanding that led to me achieving a distinction, that ranks as one of my most treasured achievements.

Mark Power: Deputy Director of Organisational Development and Human Resources, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Following a first career in the Royal Navy, I returned to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management at Portsmouth University Business School in September 2000. My aim was to consolidate the practical skills and knowledge I had acquired in the area of people management and development, by gaining a respected academic qualification and membership of a professional body (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development).

The full-time course at Portsmouth was challenging, but thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. Well-structured and professionally delivered, each module successfully maintained an effective balance between the teaching of management theories and the demonstration of how these apply in practice.

On completion of the Diploma modules, I immediately went on to complete my MSc in Human Resource Management, which provided an invaluable strategic dimension to my learning at Portsmouth. Most importantly, the MSc modules clearly demonstrated how effective HR strategies, that are aligned to the business, underpin the achievement of corporate objectives.

Undertaking my studies provided a gateway that allowed me to transition seamlessly into a second career in senior management. I have no doubt that, without my qualifications, this transition would have been far more difficult. My practical experience in managing human resources, combined with the knowledge acquired by completing the Postgraduate Diploma, helped me to be effective in my first role within the private sector from the outset.

Having recently moved to a senior position within a large and highly complex organisation, I am responsible for the delivery of a demanding strategic HR agenda. Here, I am realising the benefits of having completed my MSc, which provided me with a range of strategic business models and theories, which I refer to on a regular basis.