Joanna Wolkowicz

Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic People Management

Sligo

Can you tell us your name, job title, where you are from and the course you studied at ATU?  

Joanna Wolkowicz, Service & Spare Parts Coordinator, I’m from Donegal and I did Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic People Management 

Can you share your career path to date? 

I started working in various positions in hotels then moved into customer service in transport industry and managerial role in telecommunications and currently working in manufacturing industry in an admin role.  

What does your current role involve? 

Collaborating with customers and service engineers to identify required parts and services for breakdowns and planned maintenance, procurement, scheduling service engineers activities, creating quotations & sales orders 

What motivated you to start studying?  

I felt stuck at my current job and wanted a change. Also, I would like to pursue a career in HR/Recruitment. 

Why did you choose this course at ATU? 

ATU Sligo is my closest college and they had the course I was looking for. Also I did my undergrad degree at ATU Sligo as well. 

How did you find the process of studying in a flexible manner? What elements did you find helpful? Were there elements you found challenging?  

It was actually very easy as lecturers were very supportive and ready to answer all questions. They understood that most of us working full time and not always have time to attend class, hence why the recorded lectures were a life saver 🙂 Also, a lot of people finished their education a while ago and were struggling to get back into academic writing and we got all support we needed from both lecturers and support staff. The biggest struggle was to get home after long day at work and login to the lecture and get as much from it as possible. 

How did you balance work and study? 

It took a lot of planning and organisation to make sure kids are being looked after so I get time to attend lectures and do the course work.  

In terms of your employer, were they supportive of your decision to study? Were there elements of the course that were particularly relevant to your current employer?  

At the time of starting my studies I also started new job, which the employer was aware and I was able to leave early to make home on time to login to the lecture. So, they were quite supportive. 

Current employer was very supportive and were giving me some insights into the topics I was curious or not sure about. 

What advice would you have for anyone considering studying a flexible learning programme? 

100% go for it! You will meet amazing people there, not only students but guest speakers and lecturers and gain so much knowledge. 

In what way has studying with ATU benefitted your career? 

I definitely understand more why certain things are done in a specific way, I also became more confident and ready for HR career. 

Did this course provide any unexpected benefits to your career? 

When I was looking for a new job I definitely got more interactions with recruiters than before starting the course. Even got a HR job offer which unfortunately had to turn down due to personal reasons. 

Did you find that the elements you were studying had practical relevance in your day-to-day role?  

At my time as manager, it definitely helped as I was well prepared to conduct performance appraisals and 1-1 meetings, as well as in recruitment and how to source suitable candidates. And how to deal with conflicts.