My name is Natalie Phillips and I am a Business & Community Growth Project Manager with Clyde Gateway URC.
I studied the CMI Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership at Fife College and went on to be awarded Chartered Manager Status of CMI and am now a Fellow of CMI.
During my time with Clyde Gateway I have gained a great deal of knowledge and supported or lead a variety of solution-focused interventions across a range of priority areas. I think that when you are in a role you know inside out you can react daily and can lose sight of the skills and qualities you are using to get the job done. I wanted to take stock of all that learning I had acquired on the job to become more conscious with it and to develop my leadership skills and abilities further.
The course at Fife College helped me recognise my own strategic impact in terms of addressing immediate challenges in my role but also helped me look at and address change for the longer term. I also enjoyed the element of aligning and connecting the theory with the practice and linking it to ‘live’ work. This really brought the course alive for me and gave me further structure and other viewpoints to consider.
A course like this is as valuable for your company as much as it is valuable for you as the employee. It enables you to connect your leadership skills further with the culture and practice of the wider organisation to deliver sustained impact.
I found the full opportunity to refresh and reflect on learning a positive experience. The course enabled me to take a step back and focus on my skills and develop them further.
Since I completed the course, a model of support for families designed and implemented in my company which I have led since 2017, is now being widely recognised and further expanded. This is based on the project model’s success of engaging families, removing barriers and supporting individuals into employment and out of poverty.
I will continue to lead the project through this expansion. This continued work will enable my company to remain focussed on child poverty as a priority area and support further partnership activities that deliver maximum outcomes across all company objectives. More importantly this increased development will enable my company to support more families with wellbeing and resilience across all areas - financial, emotional and physical.
I’d recommend this course to others. It’s been a benefit for me coming from a role with a high level of practical experience in the field. It was beneficial to have the opportunity to formulate and discuss new ideas and explore theory combined with the use of my current skills and how I want to use them in the future.
The course is well structured to align with your own work. The lecturer was also very knowledgeable and supportive throughout.
Lifelong learning and skills support to employers are key to economic recovery. The course motivated me during the pandemic, updated my knowledge and sharpened my skills. I will use this refresh moving forward to enhance the work that I continue to do.