Despatches - July08

Medical sergeant becomes top pub trainer

Sergeant Alec Beattie left The Black Watch at the end of 2001 after nearly 24 years, seeing service in Belize, West Germany, Berlin, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland and the UK, specialising as a medic and gaining a practice management diploma and a Level 4 management award. He now especially values his ‘educational qualifications, people management and instructor training.’

A Career Transition Workshop provided ‘direction on employment search’, which he followed with a ‘well run and useful’ British Institute of Innkeeping Diploma in Licensed Management, a National Licensee Certificate and a Scottish Licensee Certificate, obtained through Herron House Licensed Retail Training. A first job as temporary hotel assistant manager led to employment with

J D Wetherspoon plc (see advertisement on page 83), as a shift manager, area training co-ordinator, pub manager and now as New Pub Opening Trainer.

As such, Beattie is ‘responsible and accountable for the managing and running of a high volume pub business unit, controlling all in-house financial and business matters and continual growth of the business. As an area training co-ordinator I am responsible for assisting and advising pub managers in employee training and evaluation, shift managers’ progression and assisting in their management training and development. As a pre-opening co-ordinator, I am responsible for management and staff training packages delivered prior to new pub openings and responsible for the delivery of the training standards by the training team.’

Thanks to J D Wetherspoon sponsorship, he has also completed a Diploma in Licensed Retail Management at NottinghamUniversity between May 2004 and July 2005 and a BA Honours Degree in Licensed Retail Management between March 2006 and July 2007, so he has formal qualifications alongside some years packed with experience. He likes ‘to see people develop through the training made available by the company,’ and has had a great experience himself in personal development.

HOST Computer Services ask: What is your learning style?

Everyone has different learning styles. Most experts agree that there are four methods by which we gain and retain knowledge – seeing, hearing, reading and doing. To quantify this, generally accepted figures for information retention are that we retain about 10% of what we see, 30 to 40% of what we see and hear, but up to 90% of what we see, hear and do. So, most people studying a technical subject agree that there is no substitute for being able to see and work on the real product, hear advice and have a comprehensive service manual for future reference.

HOST stands for Hands-On Systems Training. They say that: ‘Time and again student feedback has confirmed our belief that this is by far the best way to achieve the competencies and confidence required in today’s technically demanding world. An essential feature of our courses is the break-fix and repair element, so delegates can see problem scenarios for themselves and equally importantly be given the opportunity to fix the equipment in a small group. There is a real skill shortage in the IT Industry and the rewards are high for skilled people.’

Many of HOST’s instructors are former Service people and so are used to conveying complex issues in a clear and concise way. The company has been teaching for more than18 years and is authorised by two huge IT manufacturers – IBM and HP. It aims to train engineers to troubleshoot and repair IT systems and has courses ranging from beginner to advanced level.

Please see the advertisement on Page 50 for further information about them. Courses are approved by the Career Transition Partnership and information packs are available in resettlement offices. Or you can call 01952 460551 or visit the website at www.host.computers.co.uk

Good practice comes from good education

Standards of practice of landlords and agencies in the accommodation lettings sector may increasingly come under scrutiny as the credit crunch continues to affect the housing market. But as Susie Crolla, chief executive of The Guild of Letting & Management explains’ ‘as rental rates potentially rise, tenants have legal rights and the opportunity for redress.

‘Good practice and long-standing experience in the lettings industry minimises the risk of tenant/ landlord issues and disputes,’ says Susie. ‘Recently, however, there have been some high profile cases of tenants facing unreasonable increases in rental rates, which have hit the headlines. Tenants should be aware that they have legal rights when it comes to rental disputes. The Housing Act 1996 stated that landlords must serve the prescribed Section 13 notice giving one month’s notice to increase rental rates.

‘We would encourage existing and prospective renters who find themselves in a situation where their rent has been hiked a considerable amount to challenge their landlord or agent, and question its fairness. Using a specialist quality letting agent offers more security, as they will be aware of realistic market rates and will adopt a fair rent attitude.’

The Guild of Letting & Management provides education, training, advice and information to enable the tenant, the agent and the landlord to be fully aware of their legal obligations and redress. The Guild is also concerned with areas such as the quality of housing stock and whether it is fit for purpose.

For further information, please contact Beth Carroll or Lynda Heath on 020 7734 5666, or e-mail on beth@ashcommunications.com

Training fire-fighters to training young adults

Sergeant Paul Morris is coming to the end of 31 years’ service with the RAF as a fire-fighter. However, he does not have the concerns Service people often face about the future; he has always had a resettlement plan. During his time in uniform, he has achieved Open University qualifications in IT and maths, trained as a vocational qualification assessor and is currently studying a management qualification using the Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme.

He has served on several UK stations as well as on tours in Belize, Sardinia, Kuwait and Iraq. He also holds the Humane Society on Parchment award. Currently the Fire Station Training Manager at RNAS Yeovilton, Morris also works part time as an associate lecturer at BridgwaterCollege in Somerset (see the advertisement on page 18). He tutors and supports vocational students in numeracy to achieve a Level 2 qualification which is a compulsory element of their course.

Due to leave the Armed Forces in 2010, he feels his experience as a training manager has served him well in his role as an associate lecturer. He explains: ‘It has been a huge challenge to adapt from training fire-fighters to working with 16 to 19 year olds, but the management skills and the self-discipline I have gained from serving with the RAF is a significant help in this totally different environment.’

After a final tour in Afghanistan starting this month, he is looking forward to a future with more time at home with his family whilst enjoying a new career.

BridgwaterCollege offers flexible learning with all university level courses studied on a full or part-time basis with many including distance or online learning. The College has strong links with several universities who validate the higher education courses. For further information please phone on 01278 441234 or visit the website at www.bridgwater.ac.uk

Career Transition Partnership news

A new Director of Resettlement, Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, took over on 1 May 2008. His previous appointment was three years as Defence Attaché to the British Embassy in Beijing and before that he was Chief of Staff, Headquarters 2nd Division based in Edinburgh.

In addition to two tours in Northern Ireland, his military duties have taken him around the world, including adventure training in Norway and Nepal, seven years based in Germany, exercises in Canada and Kenya, a UN tour in Cyprus, and with KFOR in Kosovo. He also travelled throughout Asia during his three years based in Beijing.

He holds a Masters’ degree in International Relations from Cambridge and speaks Mandarin, German and French to varying degrees. He was awarded The Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service whilst commanding 1st Battalion Scots Guards in Belfast.

Ascot Racecourse will hold the largest employment fair in history as three of the regional resettlement centres will join forces for the first time on 24 September 2008. The event will run from 1100 hours to 1600 hours, and is expected to attract over 100 companies recruiting for roles in the South East and throughout the UK. A number of career presentations and charity events will take place throughout the day and CTP staff will be on hand to answer questions relating to any aspect of resettlement.

Service leavers can book to attend through any of the three RRCs involved which are Aldershot, Uxbridge and Portsmouth. Further details can be found on the CTP website at www.ctp.org.uk