Considering re-training

[Lemmonie]

Hi all, I am a working mother and currently doing an admin job part time to suit the children. Previously I worked in the motor trade and have no real desire to go back.
I get paid fairly well for what I do but after a few years I want to move on but when looking around at other part time, admin type jobs they are paying between £7-9 per hour and that just isn't enough.
Im over qualified as it is but without wanting to go back to motor trade I need to expand my skill set.

I have considered after working in the HR dept that that's an avenue to go down as it would pay well, lots more opportunity and ease of finding the right job.

Can anyone offer any advice or experience of gaining the appropriate qualifications?

Was looking at a part-time Level 3 CIPD Certificate in Human Resources Practise. Would I be able to get a student loan to pay for it do you think whilst working part time?

[edc]

Lemmonie said:

Hi all, I am a working mother and currently doing an admin job part time to suit the children. Previously I worked in the motor trade and have no real desire to go back.
I get paid fairly well for what I do but after a few years I want to move on but when looking around at other part time, admin type jobs they are paying between £7-9 per hour and that just isn't enough.
Im over qualified as it is but without wanting to go back to motor trade I need to expand my skill set.

I have considered after working in the HR dept that that's an avenue to go down as it would pay well, lots more opportunity and ease of finding the right job.

Can anyone offer any advice or experience of gaining the appropriate qualifications?

Was looking at a part-time Level 3 CIPD Certificate in Human Resources Practise. Would I be able to get a student loan to pay for it do you think whilst working part time?

You've made a few assumptions to get to this point. What are your expectations?

To be perfecly honest, if you are looking for an admin role in an HR department and if money is already tight then I would not waste your time with any HR qualifications yet. Filling out an employment contract template, or putting together an already created standard offer pack is not rocket science. At the lower levels it is simply admin and does not need any special qualifications. You may be sorely disappointed by the type of salary you may attract at this level. If you had no experience and were young and forging an HR career then an HR entry level qualification would make up for a shortfall in experience and demonstrate a desire to work long term in such a role. It seems like you are doing it purely for the money and have no real desire to progress within an HR department. It is no easier or harder to get a part time role in HR than it is anywhere else. A sweeping generalisation but the public sector HR departments are typically much larger than a private sector similar size organisation so may have more part-time opportunities. Entry level HR roles are often comfortably sub £18k here though.

As usual the easiest way in is a contact or previous work experience. I gave my sister a job for a few months and she was successful in securing a 'proper' HR job on her own after that. She did not embark on any HR related qualifications until several years of working. As usual, you need to be able to aggregate your transferable skills and pitch yourself accordingly.