GTDP4 Simon O’Farrell

“Our HR Graduates come to us with a solid academic background and a minimum 2:1 degree. We aim to strengthen their understanding and experience with a formal, advanced-level qualification which ties into a career plan that allows them to grow across the organisation; becoming CIPD qualified is crucial to this.

The Reed Business School programme with its focus on practical evidence, value-adding HR and work based competence is undoubtedly the right way to go for HR. This approach is ideal for Centrica because it fits in with a busy work schedule without it being too arduous. It also encourages individuals to take responsibility for their CPD enabling them to set their own timescale: some graduates have been able to complete their diploma in 12 months as opposed to the standard two years.

Whist the academic theories and models are still important, the mixed mode approach encourages graduates away from their academic comfort zone of into a more business focused approach.

We allow our graduates to choose a combination of modules which play to their strengths, interests and development areas.  In this way the learning process is more relevant to the context. They constantly find new opportunities to apply best practice to parts of the business which form their  x monthly work placements.”