ICS Learn Case Study: Shoosmiths LLP | Online L&D Courses

In her role as an L&D Specialist at Shoosmiths LLP, Laura Cronin decided to enhance her 12 years of professional experience with a CIPD accredited course.

I completed quite a bit of research prior to contacting ICS Learn as I feel it’s important, especially when completing an online course that you have the right fit. 

During my research, I concluded that ICS Learn was to be my chosen provider purely because of the amount of positive feedback I had read. 

Having worked for my company for over 12 years with lots of on the job experience gained throughout it was agreed with the support of my Line Manager that a qualification would be invaluable to increase my existing knowledge and also ensure that I am following best practice. 

As an L&D Specialist I am always encouraging others to focus on their own Personal Development and decided that I would (on this occasion) take my own advice. 

Admittedly, in the beginning I found studying online very challenging. This is by no means a reflection of the course itself but more so to do with managing my own time and being self-disciplined! 

I work full-time, attend karate twice weekly and currently training for a marathon. In addition to this I have a 12-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter, who also have extremely busy social lives. 

Being completely honest, if it wasn’t for the support of my husband I am not sure how I would have managed to study over the last 12 months. 

I have to give a shout out also to the online tutors who were extremely responsive when any advice was sought. 

The feedback they provide to you on the marked assignments are comprehensive which helps you to further improve your knowledge on the topics covered. 

I had a few technical challenges also over the 12 months and the ladies and gents managing Student Services were amazing. They often came back to me with a resolution within the hour which is fantastic.

Some of the areas covered as part of the course have really enhanced my knowledge and enabled me to understand the bigger picture much better. 

As a result of my studies I have made further improvements to my session plans and updated my course feedback forms to make them more user friendly and cater for the different learning styles of the individuals.

Completing the recorded session was a real eye opener for me as it enabled me to observe some of the areas I can focus on to further improve my delivering style. Feedback is essential!

Although I still have 1 assignment left to submit my colleagues have been suitably impressed with my increased knowledge as I lead a conversation on the importance of collecting both qualitative and quantitative data in order to make further improvements with the feedback collated… I know, go me!

I would definitely recommend ICS Learn in the future. Even though in reality you are working in isolation at no point do you feel alone. 

There is so much support material available via ICS Learn in addition to your tutors who are just at the end of an email or telephone. 

I will definitely be considering further studies via ICS Learn in the future.

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