Stamford College

Caz Dolby, Assistant Head of Faculty at the College, uses OpenLearn courses to support and diversify the delivery of their BTEC, shaking up traditional ways of learning for their students.  

‘At the moment we're working on units around work experience. We've been using the OpenLearn certificates to evidence that work.’ 

OpenLearn courses are written with real world skills at their centre ‘There are some really good courses that work well with what we’re doing.’ Caz shared, ‘Succeed in the workplace was a really useful award and we’ve used Using voluntary work to get ahead in the job market as well. 

‘There's a lot in that course. The interview information, job applications, networking – it is really valuable and it links strongly with the BTEC criteria. 

‘The statement of participation obviously is quite important to students. They've been able to show that they have evidence of everything in the course, about how they plan work experience, what to do, how to get in touch with people, the differences between voluntary work etc. 

‘Having that participation certificate to show as well as being able to go into an interview and talk about what they've learned, about their skills, has given them an edge over somebody else. A couple of our students have also gained actual part time employment from it too.’ 

Caz has found the OpenLearn courses have benefitted her students enormously. ‘The course content actually meets a lot of the BTEC criteria and it's a way to assess that's different from a traditional essay or presentation. We decided to give students this course to do, which also gives them a certificate to put in their CV, and they really enjoyed it.’  

Open University academics write the courses on the OpenLearn website but, as Caz explains, you don’t need to have an academic background, or work to a certain level to complete one of our courses. 

‘We’ve found the introductory courses are suitable for all, such as Business communication: writing a SWOT analysis, they’re written really clearly. I don't think you need any kind of academic background or university level background to be able to access those.’ 

‘Intermediate and advanced courses, such as Business models in strategic management, are slightly harder and I've worked with students to support them sometimes with those, but I actually use those more advanced courses with advanced learners.’ 

‘OpenLearn is really accessible, anybody can access this. You don't have to think that you're an academic or a degree level student to access what you're learning.’ 

Caz’s students have found that OpenLearn courses have helped them in the world of work. One student told us ‘The OpenLearn course has really helped me in my work experience unit but also in finding a job. I took the certificate to an interview to show how I had been enhancing my skills and I also used the course to help me write my application.’ 

Stamford College students have also shared how they used OpenLearn to develop their skills and knowledge in their own interests, stating ‘I took Succeed in the workplace with college but then realised OpenLearn had so much more. I have now taken Understanding ADHD and Understanding Autism to enhance my ability to get work with children and young adults.’ 

Using OpenLearn courses to support the delivery of the Business BTEC is preparing students for their next steps.  

‘We focus on careers, not courses at Stamford College,’ says Caz, ‘it's all about getting them ready to go into the workplace or to university. 

‘Our students want to go out and open businesses, or they want to work in business. We can teach them as much theory as we like but if they can't then apply that it's not going to do anything for them. OpenLearn courses are great for that.’