Procurement and Supply Student Stories:
CIPS Student Story: Shannon Fay | CIPS Level 4 Review

Shannon wanted to develop within her procurement job so she decided to enrol for a CIPS Level 4 Diploma with ICS Learn.

I’m a Procurement Officer within the Higher Education Sector working at my local University. I am currently studying with ICS Learn for my level 4 Diploma in Procurement and Supply after 2 years of on the job.

Before working for the University, I had no Procurement experience, but had a keen drive to develop my pre-existing skills I’d developed in years of working retail positions in a new career. I have worked at a number of well-known organisations including the NHS, so to step into a completely new field was daunting, but I was lucky to have a supportive team and love my job (even if most of it has been during a pandemic!).

To develop within a procurement career, a CIPs is now an expected qualification to have and was ultimately the next step in my development as a Procurement Officer.

I am fortunate that the University offers the option to part fund my qualification in line with their goals in staff development so I jumped at the chance when offered.  I chose to study after 2 years in my role as I felt the on the job experience would greatly benefit my studies as well as my studies greatly benefiting my job. I wanted to unlock my full potential in procurement and gain as much knowledge as I could to help my organisation, as well as benefit my overall career journey going forward.

After much research, ICS Learn were the best choice for me to achieve my qualification- with helpful online support and a clear website structure. I approached a number of organisations but the ICS Learn advisor who contacted me was so friendly and knowledgeable that it was given I chose to study with ICS Learn.

Also, having the resources for 2 years was an added benefit for me as it’ll allow me to work full time and study without excessive pressure.

I previously completed a BA Hons with the Open University, so online studying wasn’t something I was concerned by. However, after 7 years of OU I didn’t want to virtually walk into ICS Learn with any expectations.

So far, the course has been great. There are an abundance of online resources, podcasts and useful links which have helped alongside the course books and CIPS website.

Whenever I have been unsure of anything, I can reach out to a member of the team on the chat function and get an immediate response which is so useful! My tutor is helpful, approachable and gave me a crash course in all things ICS Learn when I started the course so any nerves I had were quickly removed.

There are also a number of online channels where other students can discuss topics or concerns, exams and well-being. It really is like a community.

I am hoping that my course will help me going forward in developing my career in procurement. I enjoy the learning, particularly as it is so relevant to my job and have already been able to implement some of the course into my working role.

I would recommend anyone looking to do online learning within Procurement to consider ICS Learn and if you have any concerns to reach out to them as they will help thoroughly!

Develop your procurement and supply career, just like Shannon did, with a 100% online CIPS qualification.