Can you study company secretary practice while working full-time?

Can you study company secretary practice while working full-time? Yes, but deciding to commit depends on a number of key factors, specific to your personal commitments and career goals.

As an example, both the Chartered Governance Institute of the UK and Ireland (CGIUKI) and The Corporate Governance Institute (TCGI) have training routes that can be taken alongside employment. 

The important difference is scale: CGIUKI’s Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme can involve seven modules of around 200 hours each, while TCGI’s Diploma in Company Secretary (DipCoSec) contains 30+ contact hours plus the learner’s additional study and assessment preparation.

CGIUKI says its Qualifying Programme can be completed alongside a full-time job. It breaks down time commitments based on examination cycles, recommending that candidates take no more than two exams in each of the two available windows – June and November. 

Using this pathway, the full route typically takes two to four years, subject to entry route, exemptions and pace.

Many people rank this option highly for the depth it provides, as well as the disciplined structure that comes from breaking this multi-year qualification into manageable chunks. It also requires sustained planning across work peaks, family commitments and fixed examination periods.

DipCoSec is fully online and self-paced, with no mandatory live attendance. Delegates receive six months of access in total, and this includes two online assessments. While designed for delegates to tackle the course material according to their own timeframes, TCGI says most complete the programme in eight to twelve weeks of focused study. 

TCGI’s 2025 internal completion data shows a 72.5% completion rate for that cohort, measured after allowing a reasonable period for delegates to finish. This figure is not a promise that every learner will complete; it is a reported cohort outcome, and individual results depend on engagement, time and circumstances.

Studying while in full-time employment will always require careful time management, whether the qualification is self-paced or anchored to core sessions of in-person learning. 

To manage the coursework appropriately, you should consider the following:

• Blocking two or three fixed study sessions each week rather than relying on spare time.
• Using your full-time employment where possible, connecting each module to a live task in your governance role. 
• Scheduling assessments before the final weeks of access. Failing an exam can happen, so it’s good to have a buffer. 
• Agreeing protected study time with your employer if the qualification is sponsored.
• Keeping a record of questions that require jurisdiction-specific legal advice.

Choose based on your timetable and career goals. Your desired qualification will likely lie at a balance between the two. If you have the capacity for a longer, more formal in-person learning experience with multiple exam windows, and are also seeking the distinction of “chartered status”, the CGIUKI programme may be for you. 

If your capacity is more limited, and you’re looking for a more condensed programme to give you practical knowledge to succeed in a company secretary role, the TCGI qualification may be better. 

Across my work with busy professionals, flexibility is valuable because it reduces scheduling friction—not because it removes the need for effort. A shorter course still requires concentration, assessment preparation and the discipline to finish.

View the DipCoSec/CCSP course, download the brochure, book a consultation or enrol online.

Data note: The 72.5% figure is based on TCGI’s internal 2025 cohort records. Most 2026 delegates remain within their active study period, so the 2026 cohort is not yet directly comparable.