Emma Knight – CIPD

Name: Emma Knight

Course Name: CIPD

Course Type: Part-Time

Image caption: NWSLC CIPD student Emma Knight
With a background in retail, Emma experienced an unprecedented challenge working as a ‘people partner’ for national family-friendly retailer, The Works during the pandemic. Already qualified at Level 3, Emma completed her first CIPD qualification after a secondment into the HR team when she worked in the grocery sector.

Emma enjoyed the discipline so much that she made a permanent move and has never looked back. Emma said, “I was encouraged to progress with my personal development when I joined The Works and was fortunate that my employer was happy to support me in completing the CIPD course as part of a higher apprenticeship. My role was field based before the pandemic, so I worked at home or within a local support centre, meeting area managers from across the Midlands and the north of England as far as the Welsh coast. I help to support around 565 people in 83 stores.

“I studied my CIPD course on a Monday evening at the college’s Wigston Campus which was convenient to reach from my home in south Leicestershire. I was lucky to have been able to spend some time in the classroom working with peers from a range of sectors who always had interesting experiences to share. The college was hugely supportive, and I was even able to access its counselling services during a difficult time for me personally. My tutors did everything they could to keep me on track and make sure that I achieved my goals.

“I had been planning to focus my apprenticeship project on labour force and retention, until the pandemic changed everything. Suddenly, from being out on the road, I was based entirely at home with all The Works stores closed during multiple lockdowns. When planning started for the reopening of the stores after restrictions were eased, I had the perfect subject for an alternative project.

“The pandemic enabled me to provide evidence of managing change against a backdrop of the new health and safety rules that we followed to maintain Covid compliance. I supported the return-to-work process for all the colleagues in my area, understanding their individual circumstances, while carrying out a risk analysis for each colleague. Not only did I need to consider the requirements of the individuals, but I also had to understand the impact on the wider business, adapt to using new technologies, and ensure our stores continued trading as a Covid-secure workplace. It was an amazing live challenge and provided me with an opportunity to demonstrate my own personal resilience and ability to adapt with flexibility to rapidly changing circumstances.”

Emma successfully achieved her CIPD Level 5 Associate Certificate in Human Resource Management and passed her HR Consultant/Partner Apprenticeship with Distinction. Emma was named Student of the Year 2020 by CIPD Leicestershire after a nomination was made by her college tutor.