In October last year I was successful in securing a place on the Civil Service Local North East Talent Management Scheme. The programme ran from October to June and consisted of both monthly two-day classroom sessions and a series of one-to-one meetings with a mentor.
The meetings with my mentor were a great chance to plan my development and receive advice on the best way to focus my efforts. Coming from a busy operational environment it was useful to have a chance to dedicate some time to planning my learning and self-development.
The classroom sessions were definitely a highlight of the programme. You are placed into groups of around 15 with a wide variety of people from across all government departments. I really enjoyed meeting and working with colleagues from across the north east and learning from their different experiences. We had a great time as we worked through the various modules.
Each session covered a different area, such as “Communication” or “Building Capability” and consisted of practical and theory-based exercises. Some of the material was quite complex but the exercises were fun and everyone got involved. The facilitators were positive and knowledgeable and really helped inject a sense of momentum and energy into the course material.
The course material didn’t just focus on work either- the ethos of the course is to focus on you as an individual in both your personal and professional life and help you to understand and focus on your abilities. It also teaches you how to work effectively within a team and gives you strategies for understanding other people and how to help them achieve their potential.
At the end of the course in June we held a celebration event where we were presented with a certificate and given the chance to demonstrate some of the new ideas we had learned over the year..
Although there is no guaranteed promotion built into the programme, I definitely recommend applying for a place - it has without a doubt helped me in planning and achieving progression in my career and personal life
I would also keep an eye on the Civil Service Local Blog site as there are lots of fantastic opportunities to enhance your learning and development.