Have you been looking for real stories of students using Recognition of Prior Learning?
We can help with great stories of how Recognition of Prior Learning can be used. Here, you’ll find an interview with Alecca N, who has both studied with us and is moving onto gaining some more qualifications through Recognition of Prior Learning.
If you are interested in finding out more about how we can help you with your Recognition of Prior Learning application, give us a call on 1300 793 002. We’re always thrilled to hear from people looking for some help!
Interview with Alecca
Q: So, how did you find out about Churchill Education? Was it through work?
I’m actually a salesperson. I work for a company that sells technical safety equipment, basically to the mine sites. I was interested in doing workplace Health and Safety, probably for two reasons. One was I’m really interested because I deal with Safety Officers and Safety Superintendents and I’m really interested in what they do. And after all, it might be nice to get a qualification sometime down the future. Also for number two reason, because I deal with them, and I deal with Safety Superintendents and sometimes we have big tenders. It is really interesting to know how they work because I can sort of, present something to them in a way that’s easy for them to chew on, and it helps more sales. So that’s why I come across that, Churchill. I chose Churchill because I deal with our energy in Murrumba, and my contact there actually recommended you guys.
Oh, that was nice!
I wanted to do something that one of the people that I respected in the industry said, pushed me that way to you guys, that’s why I chose Churchill.
Q: That’s pretty interesting that you actually chose a qualification that isn’t necessarily directly related to your responsibilities and your role. You chose to kind of widen your arena and made yourself more of a specialist.
Yes.
Q: That’s really interesting. As it wasn’t something that you necessarily had specialised in. Before when you studied with Gordon was it 100% study?
It was 100% study as I did not have practical experience in doing anything in any of the subjects. So it was all study, so I was reading, and googling, and talking to my customers, my customers and my clients helped me out.
Q: Fantastic. So, did you do it via distance? You have recently moved down here?
Yes.
Q: So it was a distance, would you be hooking up with Gordon on the telephone?
Yes. I’ve been based for the last two years in Emerald, so I just look after mainly mine sites. I work at a home office, so I’ve done everything on the weekends actually. I did it on the side of the work.
Q: How did you find the studying experience? Did you find it, you know, useful having that one to one experience? Did you find that helped? How did you find it?
I like studying. This is the first thing that I finished. I think I’ve started about three or four degrees before with universities, and they’re like correspondence. But I think, I finished this one because I had so much interaction. There have been no real major issues with any of the work on my side. Just knowing that somebody is there and you’ve made an appointment to talk to somebody because you’ve said you’re going to finish the work made a massive difference to me.
Q: Yeah. I can understand that.
But with help to understand little concepts and everything, I think I’ve done okay, just cracking through it on my own, but just having somebody in the background that I can talk to if I wanted to, but giving those little, you know, we’re going to hook up in three weeks’ time, we have everything finished.
Q: Yes. Was that the difference between the universities where they say ‘Do it in your own time. Here are the books – go away?
That’s right. That was the massive difference.
Q: Yeah. I can understand that as well because I’m studying something at the moment. I love studying too, but it’s difficult – especially with kids obviously – it’s that sense of doing your work and then doing your home things, and it can get pushed to the back of the List Of Things To Do… But if you’re accountable to somebody.. You do feel more like making time for it, and you get that sense of satisfaction out of it.
Yes.
Q: So, you’ve been to Gordon about possibly some more qualifications? Is that through Recognition of Prior Learning, is that things that you’ve actually experienced?
Yes. This is something that I like because I’ve done both Health and Safety of my own back, so I probably could have asked them a set of paper and they probably would have.
Q: I know what you mean there.
But Training and Assessing has been a major part of my job at least for the last 12 months. Anyway, with after-sales service and product development and making sure that our clients are happy because we sell long-term high-end technical product, we can’t just run away after you’ve sold a heap of gear or to a site. I guess we’ve got people on the ground, but in a remote area like where I was, it just made more sense for me to sort of step up and do sort of more training or related things. So this would really fit in with my work too.
Q: Yes. That’s amazing!
Yes.
Q: I see. That’s really nice. Well, thank you. It’s just really nice to hear different people’s experiences because people get in to studying for so many different reasons.
