Interworkers complete a reflective course alongside their placement. The course culminates in our Certificate in International Professional Practice.
The course is completed online and assessments are in the form of short written and video reflections, and an endpoint video reference from your placement supervisor.
The course is included in both our Placement Only and Placement with Support options.
The following is the course outline:
Module 1: Working Across Cultures
Intercultural competency as a professional foundation
Content covers the core frameworks for understanding cultural difference in professional contexts – Hofstede’s dimensions, Erin Meyer’s Culture Map, and high/low context communication styles. Moves beyond awareness into behavioural adaptation: how to adjust communication style, manage disagreement across cultures, and read a room in unfamiliar settings. Includes applied scenarios drawn from real international workplace situations. Assessment should test reflection and application, not just recall.
Key outcome: interworkers can identify and adapt their own cultural defaults in a professional context.
Module 2: Professional Communication
Written, verbal, and async communication for the modern workplace
Covers the full register of professional communication — business writing (emails, briefings, reports), verbal communication (presenting upwards, contributing in meetings, giving and receiving feedback), and the norms of async digital communication (Slack, Teams, documentation). Specific attention to communicating across cultures and seniority levels. Includes a practical writing component assessed against real-world professional standards, not academic ones.
Key outcome: interworkers can communicate clearly and appropriately across formats, audiences, and channels.
Module 3: Interpersonal Skills and Workplace Relationships
Building trust, navigating dynamics, and working with people
Covers the interpersonal behaviours that determine whether someone thrives or struggles in a workplace — active listening, giving constructive feedback, managing conflict, building rapport with colleagues at different levels, and understanding different working styles (DISC, Myers-Briggs used lightly as frameworks, not labels). Navigating difficult relationships, managing up, and the difference between being liked and being trusted.
Key outcome: interworkers can build and maintain productive professional relationships in diverse team environments.
Module 4: Understanding Organisations
Commercial awareness, structure, and how businesses actually work
Two parts. First: organisational structure – how to read a hierarchy, understand functional departments and how they interact, identify where decisions get made, and understand the difference between formal and informal power. Second: commercial awareness – how organisations generate revenue, manage cost, and make strategic decisions. Basic P&L literacy, understanding KPIs, and being able to discuss the business context of their own work. This is the module most graduate employers say is missing from new hires.
Key outcome: interworkers can orient themselves in an organisation and contextualise their role within a commercial framework.
Module 5: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Structured reasoning for the workplace
Not academic critical thinking – practical critical thinking. How to define a problem clearly before jumping to solutions, how to challenge assumptions (including your own), structured frameworks for analysis (issue trees, SCQA, first principles), and how to present a reasoned recommendation. Includes how to think independently while navigating organisational consensus and hierarchy. Directly relevant to consultancy, management, and any client-facing work.
Key outcome: interworkers can analyse a problem, structure their thinking, and communicate a well-reasoned position.
Module 6: Data Literacy
Reading, questioning, and communicating with data
Not a technical module – no coding required. Covers how to interpret datasets and dashboards, ask the right questions of data, spot misleading statistics, and present data-driven insights to a non-technical audience. Includes basic Excel/Sheets proficiency, understanding of common chart types and when to use them, and the concept of data quality. Connects to AI tool use – understanding what outputs from AI tools mean and where they can mislead.
Key outcome: interworkers can engage confidently with data at work, without needing a technical background.
Module 7: Digital Tools, Automation, and AI at Work
Using technology to work smarter
Covers the practical software stack of the modern workplace – productivity suites (Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace), project management tools (Trello, Notion, Asana, Monday.com), and communication platforms. Moves into automation thinking: identifying repetitive tasks and understanding tools like Zapier, Make, or basic AI prompting to remove friction. Includes applied AI use – how to prompt well, when to use AI tools and when not to, and the professional and ethical considerations of AI-generated work. Intentionally practical and tool-agnostic in principle, hands-on in practice.
Key outcome: interworkers can navigate a professional digital environment and identify opportunities to automate and streamline their work.
Module 8: Project and Task Management
Getting things done in complex environments
Covers the fundamentals of professional self-management and team delivery – scoping work, setting and communicating timelines, managing competing priorities, and working to a brief. Introduces Agile thinking at a light level (sprints, standups, retrospectives) without going deep into methodology. Strong focus on managing upwards: how to update stakeholders, flag blockers early, and negotiate deadlines professionally. Includes documentation habits and handover practice.
Key outcome: interworkers can manage their own workload reliably and contribute effectively to team-based projects.
Module 9: Personal Brand, Networking, and Career Navigation
Positioning yourself and building professional relationships with intention
Covers LinkedIn profile optimisation (especially leveraging international experience), how to build a network deliberately rather than passively, how to approach informational interviews, and how to communicate professional value concisely – in writing and in person. Includes personal branding principles: Understanding what makes you distinct and how to articulate it without overclaiming. Closing section on career navigation – how to evaluate opportunities, negotiate, and manage the transition from placement back into the domestic job market.
Key outcome: interworkers have a polished professional profile and the skills to grow and use their network actively.
