Lita McHale

Lita McHale studied a microcredential with the OUUndertaking a Business management microcredential with The Open University (OU) in Scotland has helped Lita McHale, a Community Engagement Officer with Eildon Housing Association in the Scottish Borders, to fit in studying with her day-to-day life.

Having undertaken a microcredential in Project management, she has now decided to continue her studies with the OU in Scotland.

Describing her learning experience, Lita says: “One of the main benefits was being able to access the course content at a time to suit my schedule.”

“As the time of day I accessed the course was so flexible, I was able to progress at a pace that suited my work and personal commitments,” she explains. 

Students and tutors 'extremely supportive'

Lita particularly enjoyed the interaction with course tutors and students during her studies, adding: “It was useful to see responses to questions across different work sectors. 

“At the end of each unit, tutors were very supportive in checking if they could help explain anything we were unsure of. Every tutor was very patient and understanding in their responses.

“I would encourage anyone who is unsure of anything to ask, as my experience of fellow students and tutors was extremely supportive.”

She further found the design and layout of the course to be “straightforward” and “easy to follow”.

Self-confidence built

Now having completed the microcredential, Lita says: “This course has given me more grounding in my own abilities, which will be useful in all aspects of my role at Eildon Housing Association. 

“It also helps me to be able to promote lifelong learning to colleagues.”

The course helped me to build confidence in my project management abilities.”

Involved in engaging with people accessing housing, care and support services, she explains: “My job role is continually developing, and I am currently working across a range of projects. 

“The course helped me to build confidence in my project management abilities. It helped me to define a range of skills I already utilise and enabled me to build on these within my daily working practices.”

Discussing a series of community garden projects that she’s been leading on, Lita comments: “The project management course helped me take a more thought through approach, and I secured funding through a local business and had a volunteering day at the garden with around 10 members across our teams. 

“Studying this course gave me the self-confidence to fully use my skills and work on skills I had studied.”

Victoria Cutler-Burton, Learning and Development Officer at Eildon, comments that Lita’s work leading on the garden project “has brought value to our customers and communities across the Borders”.

“The project involved lots of stakeholder engagement, partnering with community groups, and keeping to tight deadlines – skills which Lita has had the opportunity to transfer and develop as a result of completing her course with the OU,” she says.

Study pace and time 'that suits you'

Having not studied since completing an undergraduate degree in psychology several years before, Lita recommends to anyone starting their studies after a break: “Go for a course that is of interest to you. 

If it’s useful to your job role or future career, then this could be your driver to study.”

“I found the course I studied really engaging. If it’s useful to your job role or future career, then this could be your driver to study.”

“The OU offer such a wide range of courses and there are clear progression routes in these too. 

“Being able to study at a pace and time that suits you is a real advantage across many qualifications,” she adds.   

Lita is due to begin studying with the OU in Scotland again, after being accepted to study part-time for a Masters in Psychology (Conversion). 

“Doing this short course helped me to see how I can fit studies into my daily routine. It helped me think about exploring what subject I would be interested in,” she concludes.
 

Judith Turbyne, Children in Scotland: One of the very best things about working with The Open University is their style of working.

The third sector is brilliantly placed to work with communities across Scotland.

Victoria Cutler-Burton, Eildon Housing Association: Lita is a prime example of taking initiative and pursuing further development opportunities.

The project management microcredential course that she undertook added immense value.

Lita McHale, Eildon Housing Association: It's been really useful in terms of being able to plan multiple projects at the same time.

I just gained the confidence that I needed through that one unit.

Judith: Our vision is making Scotland a better place.

For us, it makes absolute sense to collaborate with somebody like The Open University to make sure we're dealing with the right problems, we're working on the right things, and we're investing in the right pieces of work.

The very first thing that we did was create a portal that allowed our staff to get access to a wide, wide, wide range of courses.

Victoria: In terms of her role and the skills that she's developed is invaluable.  

Judith: One of my colleagues is leading our group on inclusion and diversity and so wanted to refresh some of his learnings on that.

That's how he used the OU and he found it an extremely good resource.

Lita: It's great to have a new challenge in life.

It was a personal thing as well as a professional development.