Benefits of Adult Learning Courses
Types of Courses
Advantages of Later Life Study
Disadvantages of Online Study
Our Courses
Benefits of Adult Learning Courses
Deciding you want a career change half-way through your life may seem detrimental, but the possibility to restart and change jobs has never been easier. If you aren’t finding your current role fulfilling, it is possible to retrain in a different career by taking adult learning courses. Not only useful for this purpose, you can also retake certain exams to achieve higher grades or gain needed qualifications for certain roles. This can be vital to receiving promotions or achieving the career you desire.
There are many benefits to adult learning courses, even if they seem daunting at first. With many people reconsidering career paths or deciding later on in life, adults taking to courses isn’t as uncommon as you think.
The benefits of taking adult learning courses are plentiful, and taking the initiative is a great kickstart for your job opportunities going forward. These courses can help ease you back into the workplace with the right tools and knowledge you may have been missing. In this article, we’ll outline the types of courses and ways you can prepare for success.
Types of Courses
The types of adult learning courses vary depending on what you require the course for. Below are some of the examples of types of courses you can follow in adult learning.
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Access courses
If you are looking to head to university but don’t have the previous qualifications, you might consider an access course. These are courses such as Higher National Diplomas which are the equivalent to two years at a UK university. These can then be completed with a final year at a UK university to earn a full degree; this is great for those who don’t necessarily have time to study a full three-year degree. They can study two years part time undertaking an HND and can finish with a full undergraduate degree.
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Language courses
An example of a popular type of course is those which teach you a foreign language. These can be in the form of evening courses or online courses, depending on your preference. These courses can be incredibly useful for individuals looking to move aboard. Similarly, taking English courses can be useful if you have just moved to the UK or are looking to teach English abroad. One of the most rewarding, language courses are great for people looking to occupy their mind, take up a new hobby or have some free time. Language qualifications are excellent to have on your CV as they show willingness to learn, diversity of knowledge and determination.
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GCSE courses
As the name suggests, GCSE courses help those who missed out on achieving certain GCSE grades. These most commonly include English and maths qualifications which are useful when applying for jobs or are a mandatory requirement for some professions. These often come in the form of evening classes or part-time courses at a college or university. GCSE courses will often contain a diverse range of ages, since young people will often take repeat GCSE courses in order to get access to higher education or university. Older candidates, as aforementioned, may require the qualification for a certain career path.
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Speciality courses
These courses are slightly more refined and specialist in their nature. Often, adults and young learners can pick a speciality course in order to begin a career pathway. With a lot of specialist jobs, individuals often have to work their way up to their desired career, which may take a long time. Of course, the other option is to take a tailored course which will help give you the knowledge and skills you need when embarking on a new career journey.
This can be especially helpful in saving time and money since you can usually qualify much quicker than you would if you tried to progress organically through promotions and department changes. Not to mention, it can also get disheartening knowing your dream career is still a long way away.
A course can help kickstart your career since you’re putting a foot in the right direction to get you on the path to success.
So, why study online?
Well, if I haven’t managed to convince you enough yet, learning later on in life is a great addition to anyone’s CV. You can learn just about anything from wherever you are in the world. Doesn’t that accessibility to knowledge and education just excite you? If you have an interest in anything you’d like to know more about, you can learn for fun or you can gain a qualification from it.
Advantages of later life study
Of course, there are going to be many advantages to studying later on in life. For one, adding new qualifications and courses as an adult shows you are committed to learning and personal growth. This can seem impressive to current or future employers and puts you in an excellent position for career growth or increased salaries. Of course, there are many advantageous aspects of these types of courses. Below are just a few of them:
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More confidence
Taking a course later in life can help increase your confidence in your professional life as well as your personal life. The addition of new knowledge can really improve your mindset and your confidence in your chosen specialism. This confidence can then help you to mentor colleagues and share your knowledge with others, helping your workplace to be a more competent place.
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Better jobs
An obvious advantage is the opportunity of more career choices. Consequently, a better range of employment can lead to increased satisfaction, since an individual is likely to be happier in a role they have trained to be in. This gratification is important as it shows a clear pathway of progression and will come with a great sense of achievement. Even in your current role, you can use an online course to progress or earn that promotion you’ve wanted all year. Showing willing and that you are dedicated to your professional development.
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Higher pay
Coming hand in hand with the prospect of new careers and promotions, this increases the chances of receiving a higher salary because of your increased qualifications. Of course, this can be an important advantage for many. This is why it is important to see online or adult learning courses as an investment in your future. Often, courses will end up paying for themselves in promotions or increased workplace responsibilities so they are definitely worth considering.
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Life skills
What many people seem to forget is that taking an online course – or any course for that matter – will provide you with so much more than just knowledge. What you’ll gain from these courses is invaluable and you will carry these skills through life. For example, your first trait is discipline. Much like a traditional course, you will need to dedicate time to independent study and complete extra research on your own terms. This will take determination and flexibility, as you will need to schedule this around your daily life.
Therefore, a some organisational skills are pretty much essential when taking an adult learning course. Depending on the type, of course, you choose to take, you can study at weekends, weekday evenings, or whenever you get the chance.
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New friends
While online courses aren’t nearly as social as traditional courses, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t make friends. In fact, other adults who are studying will most likely prefer to feel less alone in their studies so having others involved in a virtual classroom will help set a productive atmosphere. Since our courses our live online, you can chat and discuss with your classmates and lecturer in real-time. Also, our study platform will allow you to add others taking your course as friends on Moodle. This can help increase your motivation with the course and help inspire you to learn more to bring knowledge to the table each session you have.
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Keep your brain active
As you begin to age, your ability to retain information diminishes. Keeping your brain active with learning courses and extracurricular activities such as CPD (Continuing Professional Development) will help to keep your information retention working optimally. This works well alongside activities such as reading and completing crossword or sudoku puzzles which are well known to keep your brain engaged and improve your memory function. If you are an older learner, you might also be able to help bring extra wisdom and knowledge from your experiences to the course, inspiring younger learners. Similarly, younger learners can benefit from more recent education, helping to provide up-to-date techniques and methods.
Disadvantages of online study
Of course, as with anything, there will be disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages of online study is the isolation and self-management of study. With a traditional or evening course, you will have one-to-one or group interaction, meaning you can seek advice in person from your lecturer. Of course, with many online study courses, everything is much more independent, meaning you will have to manage your time and studies effectively, with occasional help from your tutor if you have their contact details.
However, our online courses, because they are delivered live online, you can get an imitated classroom environment from the comfort of your own home. Your lecturers will also be on hand to answer any queries, you can contact them through Moodle for ease of contact.
Of course, to successfully get the most out of your online study, you will need to put in the time and effort to learn as much as possible. Unfortunately, as with many professional courses, you will need to submit some assignments. We know many people greatly dislike assignments, exams, or anything of the sort, but we do understand that they are useful. These assessments help to solidify your understanding, so unfortunately, even taking an online course won’t help you elude any pesky assignments. However, we see them as beneficial for your information retention and you will feel more accomplished at the end of it.
Our adult learning courses:
Live online courses
Here at the College of Contract Management, we pride ourselves on our diversity of live online courses that helps students towards their career goals or certain achievements. Our lecturers will use professional screen-sharing software in order to work through presentations and examples together. This helps create an interactive learning environment that helps maximise learning potential, while keeping content interesting for the students.
Face-to-face training
We do offer face-to-face training courses too. Certain courses we offer in worldwide venues in professional seminar-style conferences which often result in a certificate upon completion. These are great if you want a fast-tracked qualification, as these generally happen over one or two consecutive weekends. World class lecturers will hold these courses, and with years of industry experience, you’ll come away feeling like you have learned valuable information. You’ll also have that added bonus of face-to-face interaction, making discussions and debates much more engaging and inspiring.
So, have you ever considered taking an online course? If you’d like to discuss one of our courses with our enquiries team, send us an email at enquiries@theccm.co.uk. Furthermore, if you have any questions about our courses or methods of teaching in general, get in touch. Whilst still deeply in the throngs of Covid-19, online learning courses will be a great opportunity to gain extra qualifications while at home.