CIPS Qualifications

BYTEr

BYTEr

BYTEr

Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2004
Posts
1,048
Hi all,

I'm just wondering if anyone has completed any CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply) qualifications.

I'm asking because I graduated last year and I've still yet to work out where I'm going and a manufacturing company are offering a purchasing assistant job with the opportunity to obtain a Level 5 CIPS qualification and now trying to work out the value of this & if its a worthwhile qualification.

I'd be taking a 20%/£4k pay cut, but if its going to give better long term prospects then I'm happy to do that (no development or progression opportunities in current role).

Has anyone got any experience with these qualifications?

Thanks in advance.
 
Hey, I'm currently a level five just about to start level 6. In terms of benefit CIPS will tell you that CIPS qualified procurement professionals earn £3k more per year with a level six qualification. Alongside that is the fact that if you want a career in supply chain management, procurement or a link field then eventually you'll get to the point where employers are going to begin expecting you to be MCIPS.

I myself have found it useful and the jobs I'm applying for now (junior management band in procurement so around 35-40k) all expect MCIPS or evidence that you're working towards it. It's possibly not as instantly useful as other chartered qualifications but if you're serious about working in procurement or a supply chain field then I'd do it if you can.

Whether it's worth a £4k pay cut in the short term is really down to your personal circumstances and what else the job offers. Tricky decision really.

Happy to answer any questions. If I can that is
 
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Hi,

Thanks for replying, can I ask how you started studying for a CIPS qualification? Was it through your employer? Also did you go straight onto the Level 5 course?

I suppose my main concern at present is my motivation for considering this is because potentially an employer will be putting me through the qualifications and it’s a start to a career if you like, I’ve always studied things in the past because I was very interested & passionate about the subject with no serious consideration for how it’s going to help my employment chances – I can’t say that the field of procurement (without much experience) sounds particularly interesting or is a passion. Saying that I am very motivated to finally get going somewhere career wise as I’m 26 this year and graduated last year and by the sounds of it, the qualification is worthwhile.
 
No worries, I work for a contracting an procurement team within a local authority, my boss comes from a very procurement heavy background and he has encouraged anybody in his team of a certain level to pursue CIPS. I started at level four which seems to be quite standard, although its not unusual for people to skip straight to level five if they have experience or their role warrants it.

It's worth noting that there are a few ways of doing it. I'm purely distance learning so I book the exams, buy the books and sometimes sign up to the e-learning, then I book the exams and all of the learning is at my pace. Another guy I work with has enrolled with a tutor who provides the books, arranges his exams and then runs a seminar group of about 20 people.

You've got to be motivated to do it, studying alongside fulltime employment is hard, but this isn't degree level intensity. Having said that there's not many people out there who are going to tell you that they started this in the mindset of "**** yeah! Can't wait to get me some insight into strategic sourcing, just point me at Pareto's Law of the Vital Few and let me rip muthas!". My appreciation of procurement as a career has increased since enrolling, I think it's a case of enjoying things more when you have greater insight and ability. If you think of the potential of a procurement career and shudder though maybe get out now.

At the end of the day I ascribe to the same theory as my head of service, you can never have too many pieces of paper, and CIPS would lend itself to quite a few areas that sit alongside procurement (commissioning, supply chain management, project management, buying, category management etc..).

In terms of the value of having an employer fund you through, depending on what they offer you're looking at £1000-£3000 worth of qualification per level compared to self funding.

Also if none of that appeals to you there's always the fact that you can apply for an NUS card.
 
Thanks again for replying.

I’m not sure if I’ll start at Level 4 or 5, both have been mentioned. I think I’d prefer the distance e-learning route, when you were studying for yours did your employer give you any time off? Is this a reasonable request?

I think I’d be motivated enough, especially since there must be transferrable skills gain from the qualification which as you say lends itself to other areas.

Well I’m just waiting to confirm an interview date/time with the company to discuss everything about the the position, hopefully I'll get a positive feeling from the company.

Thanks again.
 
It's definitely worth at least asking a vague question around how they support their staff through training, and then if they don't address the specific issues you're interested in then use it as an opportunity t say "that's positive, is there any provision for study/exam leave". If they're willing to pay the likelihood is they're going to support you.

My employer allowed me 1 day study leave for each exam plus half a day for the actual sitting. That seems to be standard at my place but LA use training to make up for the reduction in salary so tend to be flexible.
 
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