Ingeus Integration Coordinator Aaron admits he felt wary of studying for a qualification on top of his busy day job. Living with borderline personality disorder means he sometimes struggles if stressed or overwhelmed but, with support from the Ingeus Continuous Improvement Academy, he needn’t have worried. Far from it in fact – Aaron says it’s given him a ‘great sense of achievement’ to gain a Lean Six Sigma yellow belt.
“It’s been years since I studied at college and when you work full time it’s easy to lose that sense of education,” he adds. “When colleagues had good things to say about their continuous improvement courses, I thought it would be good to learn something new but was a bit concerned about juggling studies and work.
“It’s not been an issue at all though. I studied over five months which spaced out the sessions and the learning schedule is published in advance. I was able to easily book my work diary around it; it was very manageable.
“The online calls were especially helpful. I enjoyed learning alongside other yellow and green belts and there was plenty of chance to ask questions and clarify things. It was very supportive. I didn’t feel pressured or the need to study outside of work hours.”
Aaron, from the Working Well (Work and Health Programme) in Greater Manchester, will graduate with other continuous improvement colleagues in July 2024. His yellow belt qualification has entailed learning to identify problems and instigate changes in working processes. He credits the course as giving him the tools to ‘look at things differently, instead of assuming you know your job inside out’.
It’s given him an appetite for learning and Aaron knows he’s in a great place to continue:
“Ingeus is excellent at facilitating people’s progress. There’s always a range of opportunities and new paths to take,” he concludes. “Since joining Ingeus two years ago I’ve never felt overwhelmed or hemmed in; I certainly wouldn’t be daunted by taking on more learning in the future to support my role.”
