The Qualifications and the Confidence to Change Career

Following five years in a customer service role, Tara Green needed a new challenge.  She enrolled on a project management training programme with ITonlinelearning and gained both the qualifications and the confidence she needed to change career. 

After graduating from university, Tara Green found herself working as a customer service advisor in a call centre.  She thought this would be just a short term job, but five years later she was still there and desperate for a new challenge.

Perusing jobs websites looking for inspiration, Tara came across an advertisement from ITonlinelearning that asked ‘Do you want a career in project management?’  She did some research to find out exactly what project management entailed and soon discovered that – yes – she really did want a career in this field.

Within weeks, Tara enrolled with ITonlinelearning and started studying their Project Management programme.  Each evening, after she finished work, she would complete one module or do some practice questions.  “I got into a rhythm,” she says.  “The learning resources were self-explanatory and interesting and I had access to all the materials I needed to help me prepare for the exams.  Everything I needed was there.”

In under a year, Tara successfully completed her programme of study, obtaining three recognised qualifications:

• Project Management Fundamentals
• AgilePM® Foundation, accredited by APMG International
• Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis accredited by The Chartered Institute of IT (BCS)

She took two of these exams from home, using a laptop with a camera, and sat the last one in an examination centre.

Armed with these qualifications, Tara began looking for a new job.  “I had amazing support from ITonlinelearning,” she says.  “Jess helped me find the kinds of roles that I could apply for and showed me what to look for in job specs.  She also did some mock interviews with me over the phone, to help me get ready for real job interviews, and was really positive about everything.  She really boosted my confidence and made me feel good about myself and my ability to get a good job in project management.”

In no time at all, Tara was successful in securing a job as project administrator with a firm that supplies porta-cabins.  This new role involves preparing the right type of porta-cabin to meet each customer’s requirements, liaising with contractors for the installation of equipment, such as fire alarms, and arranging deliveries.  “I absolutely love it,” she says.  “I wasn’t unhappy in my old job, but I’m so much happier now.  I’m really enjoying project management.”

When she had been in her new role for a while, Tara asked her manager what it was that had made her stand out from other job candidates.  She was surprised to learn that it wasn’t just the qualifications that had put her in prime position for her dream job.  “The fact that I had studied outside of work, in my own time, also demonstrated my commitment to the career and my determination,” Tara explains.

Tara hopes to stay with her current employer for the foreseeable future, develop her skills and move up within the company.  She also plans to enrol again with ITonlinelearning and take project management practitioner courses when she has more experience of working in project management that she can draw on.

Looking back, Tara is absolutely certain that she made the right decision in investing in her future.  She spread the cost of the courses over affordable payments with 0% interest and says, “It was 100% worth it.  From the first time I phoned ITonlinelearning to the last time, when I told them that I had a project management job, they were nothing but supportive.  The project management programme gave me everything I needed to get myself started in a new career.”

Are you feeling inspired by Tara’s story and are thinking of starting a career in Project Management?

If the answer is yes, then contact our Course and Career Advisors today to get started.