meet the team: Jody

If you have a look through our customer reviews on Google and Facebook, you’ll see her name pops up a lot, always with praise attached. We collared Jody for ten minutes to quiz her about work and find out what her magic formula is. She’s very modest and wouldn’t let us use a photo with this blog post (but rumour has it you can find a pic of her on the About Us page of this website).

Hi Jody. How long have you worked for DMR?

It’s just over two years now.

What does your job involve?

I’m one of the links between DMR and the companies we work with, particularly during the earlier stages of a training programme such as NVQ assessment. I go out to meet companies to provide information about the courses we offer, complete funding and training paperwork, and provide support for their employees who are enrolling on a course with us. I also complete health and safety checks with companies. I spend a lot of time on the road as well as working face-to-face with construction firms and their staff. Since the pandemic started, I try to make as much use of Zoom, phone calls and emails as I can, but it’s not always possible in this job.

What does a typical day look like for you?

There isn’t really a typical day but I try to start around 8:30am. Sometimes I’ll be out much earlier: next week I need to be in Sheffield by 7:00am and tomorrow I have an early start to visit a company in Liverpool. I travel all over the North and the Midlands – I’ve literally just got back from visiting a company in Bradford this morning where I signed up an employee to his Internal Wall Insulation NVQ.

When I visit a company, if I’m signing up employees to a qualification, I’ll start by doing the HS10 safety check with a manager, and also use that time to gather information about the company and what their needs are. This helps DMR develop a suitable training or assessment plan for the firm.

I usually meet the employees on site – either in an office or portacabin – to go through the paperwork. I also go through the qualification with them and what they can expect over the coming months (my NVQ Level 3 in Advice and Guidance comes in handy!)

After visiting a company, I usually head back to DMR’s head office in Leigh to hand over paperwork to the admin team. Sometimes I’ll stay in the office for the afternoon, but I also work from home too, more so since the pandemic started.

What do you like most about the job?

I like meeting new and interesting people, and having a bit of banter with the construction workers. I’ve been in construction training now for 16 years and before that, I trained and worked as a plasterer. So, I know the industry and the people well!

What do you like most about working for DMR?

Working for DMR gives me flexibility in managing my time and balancing it with my family life. And I feel like the management team really support me in my role.

What did you do before joining DMR?

I worked for Wigan and Leigh College as a construction reviewer. This meant acting as the middle person between the college and construction employers, and it also involved reviewing apprentices and monitoring their progress. Before that I worked for another training provider in Wigan as a workshop technician for the plastering apprenticeship team.

We’re always receiving praise for you from companies and learners. What’s your secret?

One –  Keeping promises. If I say I’ll doing something, I’ll do it!

Two – I always treat everyone the same; whether they’re the managing director of a large company, or a young worker just starting their apprenticeship.