Gaining a competitive edge—Gurjeet’s earned diploma leads to new role with renowned law firm

Gaining a competitive edge—Gurjeet’s earned diploma leads to new role with renowned law firm

Gurjeet completed her Professional Development Diploma with Legal Studies, alongside a busy family life and studying at University…what an accomplishment!

She says the practical skills she learnt at Pitman, made her stand out of the crowd, leading to a new role within a renowned Law Firm.

Hear more from Gurjeet below:

“The first aspect that attracted me to Pitman Training was its location – based in the heart of Manchester in a busy, feel-good environment where every time you step in and out of the Pitman Training Centre, you feel a step closer to gaining a professional career.

It didn’t take me long to choose Pitman Training as the members of staff were flexible and readily available to discuss my options and career choice immediately. Within one day I found that I can blend my learning from home and within the centre as I was leading a terribly busy schedule balancing university, home life as well as school runs! So being able to do this course online as well as in the centre was perfect!

I started initially with doing a Medical Secretary course as I was keen to gain a role that involved heavy organisational skills. As I was completing my official training in using the Microsoft package, I experienced a career change and applied to do a Graduate Diploma in Law at a university. Therefore, to gain work experience within the legal profession was essential to me and Jennifer Keenan adapted my diploma to suit my needs immediately. I was offered a tailored course to complete several legal related modules such as ‘Legal Text Processing’, ‘Legal Audio Transcription’, and ‘Legal Terminology’. Upon starting these courses, I soon retrieved work experience at a high achieving and renowned firm – McAlister Family Law.

Completing the Secretary Diploma was initially very difficult due to a personal issue and my one year time-plan had passed, however, this did not cause any issues with Pitman nor did the qualification lapse; my course was simply renewed on a plan that suited me best. The attention to giving a tailored experience proved phenomenal at Pitman and I could not have been happier. I had constant and supportive advice by the team of Trainers from the Manchester Office creating schemes, rotas, and deadline goals to motivate me complete my modules efficiently. And it was simply lovely to have a compassionate team to tend to my wellbeing no matter what the issue was in my personal life. This attitude persuaded me to never give up and to achieve what I wanted in the first place. There was plentiful encouragement when I came across nerves for exams or tasks – and I felt like I was in safe hands and it turned out I had passed all of my exams first time - with the majority being Distinctions!

This training has definitely made employers view me in a different light and have mentioned that Pitman is a well-recognised training centre and know that my training would have been more than adequate. With the mention of this qualification I am now happily working for a variety of Pro Bono organisations such as the Good Advice Project and National Centre for Domestic Violence where writing witness statements and Client Care Letters are key. These practical elements were not covered on my University course, therefore I was at an advantage and passed the highly-competitive applications to work for these organisations.I feel, personally, that Pitman provided me with what I need to show employers a sense of seriousness for the career I was wishing to pursue, especially as I had come from a teaching background – which is completely different to what I do now. But I would not have been able to reach this point as quick as I have done without my well-tailored Professional Development Diploma in Legal Secretary with Pitman. I feel a great sense of achievement and accomplishment and would recommend it to anyone in the world of any age with full confidence!

Thank you so much for all your help, patience, and positive support!”