Finding a course of study that was adaptable and allowed students the freedom to learn and develop in a work environment was important to Cam, and SITLRN provided the perfect opportunity to develop his skills and find work in an interesting industry.
The Otago man had intended to combine his communication strengths with a passion for sport by studying psychology and physical education at the University in Otago, with the aim of getting into sport psychology.
“I soon found that spending the next 10 years in the university system wasn’t for me so decided to graduate with just my degree in psychology and look to best utilise my strengths within a more commercial setting.”
This led him to organisational psychology and subsequently human resource management.
Cam’s completing the Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and is working as a human resource assistant at Tuapeka Gold Print.
The role has enabled him to be immersed in human resources across the entire life-cycle of an organisation, which means he could provide real-world examples in his assignments and give context to his study.
“So often in study it becomes easy to focus on theory and what is bestpractice on paper. But HR is innately a reflection of the organisation – its organisational culture, industry and market trends, and of course the people.
“My course has been flexible and enables me to adapt best-practice to benefit our organisation. That is something that you just wouldn’t get with other courses.”
The programme has enabled him to get a foundation of legislative knowledge, best-practice employment relations, changemanagement, and strategic human resource management. Having spent three consecutive summer breaks working in hospitality while studying towards his psychology degree, Cam realised he learnt best by doing and being immersed in a fast-paced ‘sink or swim’ environment.
“I wanted to study a course that would be able to provide real tangible learning experience that would be complementary to my work. As SIT2LRN is easily accessible online, and completely flexible around working hours, I felt that this would be a great fit for me.
“Luckily I got a seasonal job as a recruitment consultant where both the employment relations and strategic human resource management principles I was learning through SIT2LRN were directly transferable.
“As assignments generally incorporate the application of principles, legislative knowledge, and theories within an organisation, I have been able to learn through application.” He was pleased to learn that studying remotely suited him “perfectly”.
“I’m able to have flexible access to study, and the distance encourages autonomy and self-determination. This autonomy motivated me to make the most of the opportunity and truly shape my own ‘study-experience’.”
“Every day I’ve been able to use the foundations that my study with SIT2LRN continues to provide, and as I progress in my study so too does my chance to improve and add value to my workplace.”