Kate Barrett
Workforce Development Fellow
Graduating with a degree in Serbo-Croat, I found my vocation within the training team at Lloyds Bank where I completed an innovative graduate development programme and co-ordinated a range of regional and branch based initiatives, before moving into recruitment where I worked part time to achieve a postgraduate qualification in HRM.
I spent the next 10 years within the Training and Enterprise Council movement in the early 1990s, supporting a wide range of organisations to adopt the Investors in People National Standard and develop their staff in line with their business objectives. As an adviser, assessor and quality manager, I was privileged to work with a range of small to national companies, in the public, private and third sectors in industries as diverse as education, manufacturing and brewing, in Shropshire and the Midlands, before moving to Investors in People UK as National Assessment Centre Manager managing the assessment and recognition strategies of large multi-national organisations, Government departments and our delivery partners.
Following a career break, I joined the University of Derby in 2004, in their corporate Organisation and People Development team, where I advised and supported faculties and departments to implement a number of strategic development projects, designed and delivered an accredited management development programme, as well as working regularly with teams and small groups to deliver training workshops and other interventions of value to the organisation and the individual. I took the opportunity to train as a coach as well as formalising my occupational testing qualifications.
I left the University to set up a social enterprise to work in partnership with local community organisations to boost the confidence of teen and single parents. I continued to work as an associate of the University facilitating some of UDC's accredited programmes for major clients before joining UDC in October 2010 as a Workforce Development Fellow.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to now apply my experience of organisations and my one to one coaching skills to support work based learners on the Personal Development modules within a range of existing programmes and to develop an innovative online tool making it possible for work based learners to manage their own work/time commitments and achieve a higher education level qualification.
I am passionate about personal and professional development and volunteer regularly on events/seminars for the Institute of Self Actualisation.
