Inclusive Employers A new year, a new me – how to progress your I&D career in Sport
Our Events and Membership Officer Kat Rado-Barnes, discusses the benefits of formal professional development for EDI colleagues working in sport and physical activity.
The start of a New Year often leads people to reflect upon their roles and what they can do next to improve their career progression. One option is to complete an additional qualification to help boost your skills, which will benefit your inclusion and diversity career prospects and assist you in better shaping and influencing change within your organisation.
Below we share some documented benefits of a professional qualification in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
It can give you more credibility
Completing a professional qualification in EDI means that you will have both on-the-job experience and an accredited qualification that will benefit you and your present/future employers. It will also help you become more confident and self-assured when undertaking and delivering strategies to shape and influence change within your organisation. Our roles are often about persuasion and influence, and the credibility and confidence boost of a professional qualification can add to our self-assurance when having these conversations.
It will give you more opportunities for progression within your role
Most people prefer not to remain static. Many of us want to learn, grow, and enjoy daily activities, otherwise, there’s a potential for our jobs to become stale. Gaining a qualification can help you progress in your current role by adding more skills to your repertoire and providing the opportunity and creative inspiration to approach tasks in fresh ways or take on new challenges and projects.
It will add to your CV and may help you to get specifically targeted roles
If you’re looking for your next job, obtaining a formal qualification can do wonders for your CV. Having the right qualification might even get you through the door by giving you an edge over other applicants. It also helps to provide your experience as an EDI professional additional credibility, as most of us have built our careers on experience alone.
It may lead to higher earning potential
Qualifications are not everything, as employers also value experience. However, it’s well-reported that people with professional qualifications enjoy a higher average earning potential than those without professional qualifications. Depending on your circumstances, this might be reason enough for you to consider taking this qualification.
It could improve your mental health and wellbeing
Research has shown that engaging in education in adulthood helps to improve and maintain our wellbeing. It can boost self-confidence and self-esteem, manage anxiety, help build a sense of purpose, and foster connections with others. People engaged in learning report feeling better about themselves, having a greater ability to cope with stress, and having more self-confidence, hope, and purpose.
It will provide you with more networking opportunities
Research has also demonstrated the importance of networking in career success as it is a proactive way to access career-related social resources and make valuable connections. Similarly, the networking opportunities offered within your study cohort will enable you to gain support from your fellow students and provide a safe forum within which you can share experiences, viewpoints and ideas.
There is a high level of burnout when undertaking inclusion work and roles with social purpose, so it’s more important than ever to build resilience. A network of like-minded people is a key way of achieving this. In addition, we can often get completely absorbed by the day-to-day of our own organisations and the politics required to achieve progress, so the opportunity to step out of this environment and share experiences with others can be valuable in helping us see the bigger picture and create space for reflection.
Learning about how others tackle similar issues in different environments can also be refreshing.
Our CMI level 6 certificate in Leading EDI in Sport and Physical Activity
Aimed at those leading or delivering their organisation’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) strategy, Inclusive Sport’s CMI Level 6 Certificate in Leading EDI: Sport and physical activity is an ideal way to achieve this career and confidence boost.
So, what’s involved?
The qualification, which consists of three units, is delivered by a mix of virtual training, self-directed study, and webinar attendance and will take approximately 60 hours to complete. All the content is taught through a sport and physical activity lens with data, approaches, case studies and best practice applicable to the sector.
Each unit has a written assignment totalling 4000 words and is split into three tasks. Our excellent in-house team provides student support and feedback on drafts before final submission to the CMI.
Our qualification pass rates are 95%+
The cost per delegate to attend is £2,695 +VAT (member discount 10%). We can also deliver internal cohorts for organisations at a discounted rate.
How have other students found it?
Below we share the experiences of other students who have undertaken CMI qualifications through Inclusive Employers. Learn why they chose Inclusive Employers as their course provider and how their inclusion career has benefited from this accredited qualification in the blogs below.
How do I sign up?
Are you looking to reinvigorate your EDI expertise and receive a professional qualification in 2023?
Please find out more about our CMI Level 6 in leading EDI in sport and physical activity by speaking to your account manager or submit an enquiry below. One of our team will then be in touch for a no-obligation chat.
We look forward to hearing from you.