How to get back to work after having your first child
There has been an increasing interest across the world in relation to women not having children until later in life. For many women, creating and carving out a career in their chosen field takes many years, preferring not to have their families until they feel they are established within a role or employment.
For many, getting back to work after having their first child can seem a daunting prospect, a balance of day care, working shifts and so on. It can also be a financial necessity that women return to work and with this is mind, many choose to also take this time to further their skill set and knowledge base.
With a range of home learning courses available from NCC Home Learning, for many expectant or new mothers, spending some time upskilling is a great way of stepping back into the work place.
Why home learning works with parenthood
Many mothers are seeing their maternity leave as an opportunity to take stock of where their career is heading.
Some may feel that they no longer want to work in a certain sector, or some new mothers feel that they will not be able to continue because work patterns are incompatible with family life.
For some women, it is also a chance to expand their horizons when it comes to their choice of career or role they play.
In order to get back in to the workplace, many women will go on to compete home learning courses that show a new set of skills and an expanding knowledge base. With many subjects on offer, some specific to certain industries, there is a home learning course that will answer all needs. Home learning can also allow for more cost-effective Infant Care due to the additional flexibility and convenience that this style of learning affords.
In some ways, by advocating home learning or study as a means of only furthering a career is to do it a dis-service. Completing a course that is of interest is just as important too. If there was a time when you could ‘have a go’ at trying something different or learning something new, when the children are small must surely be a prime time.
The benefits of home study
Learning from the comfort of your own home brings many benefits:
- Study at your own pace
You may have memories of school or college where there was pressure to have certain topics completed within a time frame set by the school, tutor or the way in which the curriculum was set. This meant that teaching had to happen at a certain speed but for some, their own learning pace could be slower or faster than this.
Some concepts, as you know, are easier to understand than others. You may work through a section of a module quickly, especially if you are familiar with the ideas and theories. You may find that another module presents more of a learning challenge.
With home study, you control the pace of your own learning.
- Fits around life
Life happens. And so it should. How many times have we heard of parents struggling or missing out on attending key events in their children’s lives? And then there are the restless nights, the days when children are ill and so on.
There will also be times when life does go according to the plan for that day which means you may be able to snatch an hour or two of study time at various points in the day.
Home learning is a concept that is far friendly and more willing to fit in with your life. You may prefer to study at certain times too – if you are an early riser it may mean half an hour to read through the next module before the house awakes, or maybe you prefer last thing at night – and the fact is, that studying and learning from home can be done when you want, or can do it.
- Effective
Some students worry that home study courses are not of the same value or quality as a course taught at college.
The truth is, the courses are accredited by the same awarding organisations as those courses taught at many colleges and schools across the country. Home learning courses are of the same high quality, supported by knowledgeable tutors with some of the best resources to be produced.
Returning to work?
For many parents, returning to work after starting a family is made easier by the fact that they have additional qualifications to add to their CV. Not only have you managed a new family, you have managed your learning too – and these are skills that employers are crying out for.
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