At last the summer sun is here; it’s holiday season and the CIPS July exams are finally over. Many CIPS students welcome the summer period as a time away from their studies to relax before the Autumn re-start, which is a great approach for mindfulness. But if you are wanting to keep your hand in and you are looking for opportunities to stay actively learning, here are a few hints and tips to “sharpen the saw” and make sure you start back to you CIPS studies in the best shape possible.
WIDER READING
Why not slip a procurement text book into your hand luggage before you fly off on your holidays? You could take the CIPS study guide for your next module (although these are big and wordy), or you could take a more focused book to dip-in and dip-out of.
We recommend:
The Procurement Models Handbook (3rd edition) by Andrea Cordell & Ian Thompson (published by Routledge, ISBN 978-0-8153-7560-9) or
The Category Management Handbook by Andrea Cordell & Ian Thompson (published by Routledge, ISBN 978-0-8153-7551-7).
Both of these provide excellent short summaries of some of the key theory you need to know to pass your CIPS exams.
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Just staying tuned-in to the news can be a very helpful method of supplementing your knowledge before the Autumn start-back to studying. Aside of picking up all sorts of useful examples to mention in your CR exams, almost all global news channels speak directly to those STEEPLED factors that CIPS needs you to understand and apply to the world of procurement and supply.
Recent news examples include: climate change, trade tariffs, political instability, cost of living, shortages of natural resources, raw material and commodity volatility, and so much more.
ADDITIONAL LEARNING
Why not take the summer period as an opportunity to broaden your learning away from CIPS? This might sound like a contradictory suggestion from us, but research suggests that focusing on other skills and talents helps with the general development of an individual. Consider working on another language, playing a musical instrument or practising a sport or physical exercise.
For those wanting to keep their learning focused in the procurement bubble, you could try alternative learning media. Cordie provides all of it s Level 4 learners with in-depth eLearning and we have also developed a focused YouTube channel just for CIPS study topics: @Cordie_A1
Whatever you choose to do, please remember to relax and enjoy these quieter moments. CIPS studies can be demanding, especially with the exams that repeat every eight weeks.
We wish you a lovely summer break and we look forward to seeing you again in September!