I’m doing mine with Avado as well. Any education starts with taking an unknown and working on it till it’s known, so in that respect all learning is difficult. But it’s an awful lot less difficult if you have an interest in it.

With my teacher’s hat on, given your learning to date I think you’ll find the level 3 too easy but the 5 difficult enough to give you a challenge without being impossible. Having done many online courses, mainly through the OU, my single most important piece of advice would be:

“Make yourself do 15mins work on it EVERYDAY, with NO excuses”

It’s so easy to let it drift ‘just for today’, but then before you know it you’re a week behind and it’s next to impossible to catch up. By making yourself do 15 mins you can then give up with a clear conscience if you wish, but most of the time by then you’re in it and just carry on.

Good luck!

In reply to Teresa:

Hi Theresa, thank you very much for your response that is very helpful. I will definitely commit myself to at least 15 minutes a day to avoid falling behind! Have a lovely evening and thanks again :)

Hi Lila, I completed this qualification in 2013. Yes you may struggle but purchase some books in addition to looking at the college or university Moodle/Intranet. Ask other students and get your referencing right. I'm sure you will be fine. Its daunting when others come from a HR background, I had lots of management experience which helped but go for it!!

In reply to Nicola Grant:

Hi Nicola, thank you very much for your response. I agree with you, I will definitely need to do extra reading to bring my knowledge up to speed so that I can match the level I will be studying at as I don't have much experience in this field. Thanks again and have a lovely weekend :)

Hi Lila, I am similar as you, I don't have many HR working experience either, till now I only have 1.5 years working experience in HR. I found myself really like work in HR, so I just enrolled the CIPD level 5 course last month, I hope during the study which can guide me to perform more effectively and efficiently. I think it is really good and worthy investment for continuing my career in HR.

Hi Lila,

I completed my level 5 through ICS Learn last year with no HR experience apart from recruitment and found it to be challenging but very doable, I had to discipline myself really strictly at nights and sometimes at the week to keep my reading up to date and allow me to present a balanced viewpoint in my assessments.

Employment law in particular is something I would do more prior reading on before starting the topic if I was doing it again.

David

In reply to David Allan:

Hi David,
Thank you for your response that is good to know. I will definitely have a look at the modules in detail prior to starting to see what I can learn, especially as you mentioned Employment law which will be tricky!

Thanks again and have a lovely day :)

In reply to David Allan:

Hi David, I have no experience in HR but want to get into this field. I'm 27 so I'm wondering what is the most effective route. With ICS, how long did it take you to complete your level 5? Did you study full time or part time online?

Natasha

In reply to Xiaolin :

Hi Xiaolin, how are you finding the Level 5 and who are you studying with? :)

In reply to Natasha :

Hi Natasha,

Apologies for the delayed reply.

If you are really organised and have the time you can apparently achieve it in 9 months and I probably could have done this had I put more time pressure on myself, instead I spread it out over about 15 months which was online in my spare time after work and at weekends. The assignments themselves I found to be alright it was more the prior reading to ensure I had enough content and reference points.

Keep in touch, happy to help.

David

I've been in HR around 16 years (mainly at Assistant level), have a non HR related degree and prior to starting my Level 5 had already successfully completed Level 3 and Level 4 (NVQ - no longer recognised under CIPD qualification levels). So I had previously raised a post on here as to whether I should start at Level 5 or Level 7 as different providers were advising different levels. In the end I started at Level 7 but as mixed mode /distance/work based learning found that I just couldn't evidence enough experience at Manager/Business Partner/Director level however much opportunities etc. I would be given, so the provider then dropped me down to Level 5.

Whilst I had the HR experience , it was still challenging enough to push me but not set me up to fail. For me it was about getting familiar with the requirements of the assignment - what to include and exclude within relatively short word limits for these kind of topics as well as reading, researching and referencing. Though the CIPD guidance (student area) helped a lot with this.

I was also really lucky in that I work in a large public sector HR team who had all previously studied CIPD qualifications as well as being assigned a mentor. So if you feel you are lacking HR knowledge read/research and make the most of sharing other's knowledge 'if' you work in large team as well as using the CIPD Student area.

Really pleased to welcome so many first-time posters to this thread... and Lila, thank you for being so engaging in your responses. Great stuff.

...and three threads from 2018 that people may find useful to read:

CIPD Level 5 Online Service Providers - your experiences and feedback, please

CIPD level 5 Diploma

Do I go onto my L5 or have a break?

In reply to Clare:

Hi Claire, thank you for getting in touch.

I have heard how difficult the Level 7 can be and do know how demanding this level is so your comments do not surprise me at all, it's great that you were able to complete the Level 5 instead.

Your suggestions are very helpful. I should be starting in November so I will be doing a lot of reading and research to prepare, hopefully this will help me!

Thanks again and have a lovely day :)

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Thank you Steve :)