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Lorraine Robson - A Record!.
Lorraine Robson completed a Scottish Vocational Qualification in Business and Administration at Level 3 in just six months…a BC Consultants record!
She has worked with Scottish Enterprise Borders, (or Scottish Enterprise as it is now), since 2002, initially as a part time receptionist and part time administrator. She progressed through various departments, including Strategy and Corporate, Business and Infrastructure and latterly Enterprise Development, within which she continues to be based, but now as a full time administrator.
“I had already completed SVQ Levels 1 and 2, (as a part-time student at Borders College), and wanted to progress to Level 3. I felt it would be a valuable addition to my CV and would help further my career, whatever I decided to do in the future. Such has been the beneficial effect on my confidence that I am even now considering applying to do further training and qualifications.”
The structure of the new qualification was on a par with the ones she had undertaken previously, but that’s where the similarity ended. This time round Lorraine undertook her qualification through work based assessment, allowing her to work at a pace agreed with her assessor and to generate evidence from the workplace – within a portfolio of work products, witness testimonies and observations.
“It was great, “she commented, “Because it had been almost eight years since I had worked on the previous qualifications, it felt as though I was starting all over again, but with such a difference. I was able to meet the standards whilst going about my daily work and produce the required material quite naturally; setting time aside to meet with my assessor to review my progress monthly. I wanted to develop in a way that would balance family life and work and this approach really suited me perfectly.”
Lorraine was pleasantly surprised to achieve the award in such a short time and never anticipated that she would get through it as quickly as she did. When she and her assessor cross referenced her excellent evidence against the standards, she never ceased to be amazed at how much she had actually accomplished and every meeting concluded with Lorraine another step closer to her goal.
Strangely enough, in addition to all that she has achieved, she has also discovered what she does not know and has identified the areas in which she would like to brush up her knowledge and skills. “I am going to sign up for short courses to meet the specific IT training needs I have uncovered. I now have the bug for learning and training and am keen to keep the momentum going. I want to continue building on the high standards I have already demonstrated though my SVQ in Business and Administration.”
Apart from gaining the qualification, Lorraine felt she gained enormously in confidence as a result of the experience and was delighted to have her work validated in this way. Her line manager and other staff members at Scottish Enterprise were behind her all the way and, were, quite rightly, thrilled for her when she showed a clean pair of heels at the end to complete her SVQ in record time.
And what of BC Consultants? Well, it’s hoping that more candidates of Lorraine’s calibre will be tackling Business and Administration Scottish Vocational Qualifications in the very near future. Who knows? There may be more record breakers out there!