About The Training and Assessing Team
Sean Druce
Trainer & Assessor - Machine Woodworking, Furniture/Woodworking, Woodwise
Sean started his career serving an apprenticeship in wood machining and hand skills for a company in Bridgwater.
He later became responsible for building maintenance at Hinkley Point nuclear power station then worked for a kitchen fitting business.
In 2006, Sean joined a bespoke furniture manufacturer as their head machinist.
Sean joined Didac in May 2008, delivering wood machining, furniture/woodworking training on Appenticeship, Train to Gain and Commercial programmes.
Paul Stephenson
Trainer & Assessor - Machine Woodworking, Basic Furniture/Woodworking, Woodwise
Paul started his career as an Apprentice in Machine Woodworking with a large family run business in Leicester working in the timber engineering and truss mill, then moving to work full time in the tool room producing profile cutters for moulding applications.
He then had an opportunity to move onto the maintenance staff, maintaining and repairing all the equipment he had previously worked on.
Paul then moved to Wadkin to work in the refurbishing shop before moving onto machine builds.
When a service engineer position opened up Paul was offered a move to the South West to begin work as a service engineer machine installer and machine trainer.
After finding training to be where his heart was Paul move to begin work with Didac as a full time trainer in October 2010
Alex Sills
Trainer & Assessor - Furniture & Woodworking, Basic Machine Woodworking, Woodwise
Alex joined Didac in Novemeber 2010 as a Trainer/Assessor. Alex was previously known to Didac as an Apprentice completing Level 2 and Level 3.
He has a great deal of knowledge and experience of the industry and has worked for two well known employers, one of which produces high quality items, many of which are exported to other countries.
Roles included - cabinet making, kitchen manufacture and installating, basic polishing/finishing, veneer work and basic machine woodworking.
Alex delivers the Furniture and Woodworking programmes, including some basic Machine Woodworking and the Work to Learn Group with year 10/11 school learners
Tom Hancock
Trainer & Assessor (Associate) - Furniture and Basic Machine Woodworking
Tom is a fully-qualified cabinet maker who has worked as a trainer and assessor for Didac since March 2009.
Tom holds various City and Guilds qualifications in furniture manufacture and he has taken Train to Gain courses since being with the company.
Tom works on furniture, key skills.
Pete Salmon
Trainer & Assessor (Associate) - Polishing and Finishing
Pete took an apprenticeship as a furniture polisher in 1967 and worked for the same company for 18 years, becoming polishing shop manager. He also achieved the NEBS Certificate in Supervisory Studies.
Since 1986, he has worked in technical sales for a supplier of industrial coatings for wood, plastics and metals.
In 1997, he joined Didac as an associate assessor/trainer.
In 1996, he became chief examiner for City & Guilds in wood finishing. He achieved his Licentiateship of the City & Guilds of London in 1998.
Gary Hobson
Trainer & Assessor - Industrial Training
Gary has extensive experience in the industrial training field and is well known to Paul Mackley having worked with him at two previous companies for more than twenty years.
He joined Didac in January 2011, after playing a major part in course development and delivery for his previous company. During that time he gained valuable experience in many industrial subjects.
This will help the Industrial Training Unit increase the course portfolio.
Gary is a qualified ITSSAR forklift instructor and tutor and can train operators and instructors in a wide range of subjects.
Gary Morris
Trainer & Assessor - Professional Development Apprenticeships & Commercial
Gary spent 22 years serving in the Royal Air Force as a Flight Operations Manager. Towards the end of his military career he was instrumental into introducing Apprenticeships into the Flight Operations Trade.
On leaving the RAF Gary spent some time working as a consultant delivering Apprenticeships and also training potential NVQ Assessors and Verifiers.
Gary joined the Builders Merchants Federation in 2007 as the Regional Assessor for the Midlands delivering Apprenticeships in Customer Service, Management, Team Leading, Business Administration and Warehousing.
Gary has now joined Didac as an Assessor / Trainer.
Gary is qualified to A1 V1 standard and also holds an NVQ Level 4 in Training and Development and a City and Guilds Licentiateship in Training and Development.
Angela Pountain
Trainer & Assessor - Professional Development Apprenticeships & Commercial
Angela has been involved with Training and Development since 1979, including Youth work, working with a wide range of people of varying ages.
She was self employed for several years, training Trainers and Assessors to TDLB standards at New College Durham and within various Training Providers in the North East.
She joined the BMF full time in 2001 and has now joined the team at Didac.
She is qualified to A1 and V1 standards and holds a C&G 730 Adult Education Tutors Certificate.
Philip Hawkes
Trainer & Assessor - Professional Development Apprenticeships & Commercial
Philip worked in the defence industry for 16 years, starting as a trainee glassblower, rising to Group Leader/Production Manager in the manufacture of night vision equipment.
Defence cuts led to a change of career and he qualified as an Assessor in 2007.
Philip has worked for four training providers, including the Builders Merchants Federation before joining Didac, delivering NVQ’s and Apprenticeships and has developed his professional status by assessing PMO, Customer Service, Retail, Warehouse and Storage, Business Administration and Management, all at levels 2 and 3, in April 2010 he gained the Internal Verifier award.
Philip has many qualifications including:
A1, V1, PTLLS, BTEC Certificate in Management Studies at Level 4, NEBSS, City & Guilds Certificate in Quality Control, Key Skills at Level 4, EDI Technical Certificate in Customer Service at Level 3, EDI Technical Certificate in Business Administration at Level 3, a City & Guilds Customer Service MOL Distinction and a City & Guilds Health & Safety MOL Distinction.
Philip is also a member of the IVA, the IVF and ILM.
Katy Carrick
Trainer & Assessor - Professional Development Apprenticeships & Commercial
Katy Carrick has been a regional assessor and regional manager for Scotland. This dual role involved working closely with clients to assess their training needs and to deliver apprenticeship training in the workplace.
Katy is a champion of using technology to deliver training as she sees it as an effective and streamlined approach to training and uses the electronic portfolio to help learners gather evidence for their chosen qualifications.
Katy has previously worked for over 16 years for IBM holding many roles in that time many within training. This role took across the world training in places like China, Japan, and many parts of the USA and Europe.
Katy holds professional membership to:
Institute of Leadership & Management and Institute of Builders Merchants.
Katy also holds many qualifications, including:
HND IT, NVQ Level 3 in Management, 7303 PTLLs, ECDL, D32,33 & 34,
NC Units
Multi Media Computing and Computer Application Design.
EDI Technical Certification - Customer Service, Business Administration at Level 3
Associate Staff.
Didac use Associate Staff where required. If you are interested in such a position, please contact Elaine Stanley with your details