Real-life careers: Rose Rees loved Art and English at school, but discovered she had a talent for business too. She went from doing admin in a local brewery to managing over 60 pubs, all without a degree! See how she went on to be a training & development manager for Midland Metro Alliance – and why she loves it.
Hi Rose! Tell us about your job…
I came to the Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) as Training and Development Manager having been seconded full time from Auctus Management Group who, working with Colas Rail and other partners, successfully tendered for a contract to deliver five tram extensions in the region on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority. I have responsibility for training and developing Midland Metro Alliance colleagues and my personal drive is to encourage young people to consider careers in rail, civils and construction sectors. I work with local training providers, job centres and youth organisations to promote the MMA’s vision to leave a legacy of sustainable employment for local people.
Every day is different – from delivering presentations at conferences, researching training courses and organising training for MMA colleagues, helping unemployed people write CVs and practise interviewing techniques, attending network events (6am breakfast ones are not my favourite!), mentoring students, attending career fairs…..the list is endless!
What are the best bits?
I love working with unemployed young people 18-29 years old who have not particularly enjoyed school or college for lots of reasons but who really want to get a career and be more independent and successful. There are so many different ways to get a job and I enjoy talking to young people about the opportunities within the rail, civils and construction sectors.
The fun times are at career fairs when I can talk directly to young people!
Making a difference in people’s lives sounds a bit “do goody” but it is so rewarding personally when someone I have spoken to enrols on a training course to learn the required skills to get a job they really enjoy.
What top 3 skills are important in this job?
- Passion
- Enthusiasm
- Resilience
DID YOU KNOW?
Resilience, flexibility and a positive attitude to learning new things are all skills you can build up with free Young Professional training here at Youth Employment UK.
How did you get into a training & development career?
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I was a teenager. The only really enjoyable subjects at school were art and English! I loved Art so much that I studied for my Art A level in a year during lunchtimes as an additional subject. I had a reality check though and had to face that loving something but not necessarily being brilliant at it was fine, but I was just not skilled enough to progress Art as a career.
I worked every Saturday in my mum’s clothes shop in a little village. It was hard work and boring at the time, but I look back now and realise I learned customer service skills and sales skills (“oh madam you look lovely in that”!!)
Having left school with 8 O Levels and one A level in Art I went to college to study Business for a year. But I didn’t settle there so I left and got a job as a filing clerk in a local brewery just to earn some money! When I was there I saw graduates coming into the brewery as Trainee District Managers with great degrees but no work experience and I thought “I can do that job”. I applied internally, which shocked the management as at that time there were no women District Managers. I was considered a novelty I think but ended up spending several years managing 60 pubs at a time across the Midlands, Wales and Wiltshire. It meant long hours and lots of travelling but I learned that I was competitive and enjoyed the challenges faced in the brewing industry.
At 30 I wanted a career change so went into the recruitment sector and enjoyed finding people jobs across the UK. After several years I was offered another career change by a local radio station that was developing their sales team and spent many years working hard but enjoying life too – attending lots of concerts and events! My “life changing moment” was when I had my daughter and realised that working late most nights wouldn’t be ideal so decided to become a teacher and just loved it. Teaching 16-19 year olds in a college was a great challenge and I loved making a difference by persuading them learning could be fun and most definitely beneficial for their futures. My experience and skills learned in recruitment helped them when creating CVs and building their interview skills too.
Did you need training and qualifications to get where you are today?
My sales and management skills have been developed over many years in business with no formal qualifications. I trained as a teacher at quite an “old age” and found going back to reading and learning tough as I had to discipline myself to meet the deadlines. I am proud of achieving the Level 5 qualification after 18 months.
Have you faced challenges on the way?
Working in male dominated sectors has been a challenge but one I have embraced, and I believe have earned respect through working hard and delivering the required results for the companies who employed me.
Have you got any career and job hunting advice for someone who wants your job?
- Set up a Favourites Folder on the Internet and save career pages in there from any companies you are interested in working for. It’s easy to keep checking on their current vacancies that way.
- Register on LinkedIn but use it professionally – it’s not Facebook! Share interesting articles that you find relevant to work. “If you help others, then others will help you” is my view on social media for work.
- Make sure you create a professional CV. Keep to one font style, for headings don’t use bold, italic AND underline – just one will do! Ask someone to proof read it for you too.
- Attend any open days, career fairs etc. and collect information from all the exhibitors to take home and read again. Utilise help and advice from work coaches and mentors. Offer yourself for work placements with local employers to build experience and show that you are keen to work.
I have always believed that if you are going to do something then do it to the best of your ability. Have belief in yourself and, whatever your dream is, follow it. You may find it will take you down many different paths but you learn something new every day so be open to new ideas and opportunities.
Listen and learn from experienced people you meet in work and on your travels and most importantly be yourself – don’t be a sheep and just follow the crowd.
You make the decisions and you are the master of your own destiny.
The average age in rail and construction is 45!! We need young people NOW!
We’re coming to the end of our Q&A. Before you go… surprise us!
The picture below is my passion – being kind to all living creatures is very important to me. I transport abandoned and abused animals into rescue in my time away from work. Helping them get to a safe place where they will be finally cared for is so rewarding. Humans kill for pleasure – and that needs to change. All life is precious and should be treated with respect.
