In the latest of our Training Talks series, we catch-up with trainer, Paul Gardener to find out more about his experience with Morson Training from the most fulfilling thing about his role to how his role has impacted his life.
What is the most fulfilling thing about your role at Morson Training?
For me, it’s the fact that you get lots of support. Any issues that we have or if there’s a question you don’t know the answer to, someone will know the answer to it, and you can go to them. It’s a two-way street.
It’s brilliant to see someone you have taught go on to excel in their own rail journey too. One of our trainers, Jonathan Heaton started as an apprentice of mine and it’s been great to see his progress. Another one of my ex-apprentices who was with Jonathan at the time as well, he’s now a level three S&T engineer. It’s the same for any teacher or a trainer, to see and map someone’s progression from day one into the things and fields that they developed in, it makes you feel good. It’s always nice to bump into them, which happens from time to time.
What makes Morson Training stand out for yourself?
I think for me it’s as I’ve mentioned before, the amount of support that you get at Morson. The amount of training and upskilling that’s available to you to progress, you can make yourself more available for other courses and also, you get to meet new people in different locations.
What does a typical day look like for yourself?
A typical day would start with being at the location where you’re delivering at least an hour before you deliver. This is to ensure that all your paperwork, procedures and the equipment is working as it should be. If it’s not, you can then go down to your secondary way of doing things to ensure that the lesson concerned follows smoothly. Also, it helps if there are any early delegates there. You can scan them in straight away and start getting to know them before the lesson starts.
How has working at Morson Training impacted your life?
It’s impacted my life in a positive way. I enjoy training, meeting new people and as we said before, it’s great to see the amount of progress people make. A few years down the line, you get to see someone again and talk to them about their experiences, what they’ve done so far, and what they plan to do in the future.
How much would you encourage people to pursue a career as a trainer?
I think on the training side, if you’ve got any practical experience in the rail industry, whether it’s technical or operational, going down the training route provides you with a way of handing over your knowledge and expertise to others, giving them the tools to progress in the future.
