The majority of my career since graduating in European Business Management in 1992 has been spent in Higher Education, apart from a three year period of employment as International Marketing Manager for a safety company in Barry, which introduced me to the ways in which businesses operate but also confirmed that my career should be in education and training rather than sales and marketing!
Initially I worked as European Project Officer at UWIC and from 1999 as part-time and full-time lecturer teaching IT and business related subjects on a number of HE and FE programmes including BA Business Studies, HND Food Technology and the International Foundation course. I was Programme Director and Accreditation Officer for the Access Framework for a number of years which involved collaborating with Open College Network and managing and delivering a suite of pathways at Level 2 and 3 which was very successful in targeting non-traditional learners who were given an opportunity to reengage with education later in life.
I have been teaching on the PCET programmes since 2000 and Programme Director for the PCE PCET and Preparing to Teach programmes since 2008, lecturing on both these as well as other programmes including PGCE PCET, BA Youth and Community Work, BA Humanities and BA Educational Studies.
I have been involved in a number of Enterprise activities, designing and delivering Train the Trainer and Professional Presentation Skills and have delivered a number of bespoke enterprise courses to external organisations including the Welsh Assembly, Flying Start and Ategi. I was also part of the writing team for the publication of the Legislation elements of the Learning Coaches qualification, and the delivery of this module across Wales.
I am a member of the Higher Education Academy and completed my Masters in Leadership and Management in March 2014. I am interested in pedagogy and andragogy and the diverse PCET sector, especially the ways in which adults engage in education at various times of life and also the impact on education in terms of the benefits to an individual's confidence and career opportunities. I am also interested in the ways in which part-time students are supported within an HE environment. The complexities and intricacies of teaching adults mean my role is never boring, which is why this sector has remained the main focus of my career to date and has become a vocation rather than merely a job for me.
I have two young sons who adore football, which has forced me to learn the rules of the round ball game rather than the oval ball. However, I am yet to be converted!!
