Access benefits from a tremendously strong, loyal and talented team. With low staff turnover and a broad range of skills we are able to offer a quality service to businesses and individuals.
Malcolm Armstrong - Managing Director 0191 490460 marmstrong@accesstraining.org
Following a short career as a teacher, Malcolm joined English Estates YTS (which later became Access) in 1983 as a Training Officer. He has since been instrumental in the growth of Access, taking up the role of Managing Director in 1996 and, following a management buy out, becoming sole owner in 2007. Malcolm is also Director and Chairman of the Collective (a consortium of local training providers) and is Chairman of the Tyne & Wear and Northumberland Association of Learning Providers (TWNALP). On Access' success, he says "I have been lucky to have worked with lots of marvellous people over the years. I think it has always been the quality of our staff that has made us stand out!'
Something people probably don't know about Malcolm: He used to be a PE teacher and has played tennis with former England manager Steve McLaren.
Christine Scott - Operations Director 0191 4904650 cscott@accesstraining.org
Chris held a number of senior roles in personnel and management within BT before joining Access 10 years ago. An experienced trainer, Chris managed our Business and Management CoVE before progressing to her current role as Operations Director. She leads our Business Solutions team and has responsibility for all employer engagement activities within the organisation, as well as marketing and personnel. Chris was instrumental is developing our systems to improve our responsiveness to employers, culminating in our achievement of the prestigious Training Quality Standard.
Something people probably don't know about Chris: at 20 she was once the youngest manager in BT- she was a work in progress! She is interested in interior design and she has admitted to an unhealthy obsession with the Next Home catalogue
Alan Dent - Training Manager 0191 4904654 adent@accesstraining.org
Alan has been with Access for over 20 years, with previous experience as a manager in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. He has held a number of roles within Access over the years including Trainer, Assessor, Internal Verifier, General Manager and his current position as Training Manager. He has responsibility for all delivery staff (trainers and advisers) and ensures that the quality of our training delivery and support results in excellent achievement rates and customer satisfaction.
Something people probably don't know about Alan: He has been captain of Blaydon Harriers for many years, has completed the Great North run 26 times (best time 67.14) and is a GB international.
Valerie Green - Business Solutions Adviser 0191 4904652 vgreen@accesstraining.org
Valerie uses her previous experience within the customer service sector and as a Business Studies and ICT Teacher, to ensure employers and potential learners receive a professional and first class service. She is responsible for engaging with employers and advising on the training programmes that are available, screening new applicants for the apprenticeship programme - then matching them to suitable employer vacancies. Valerie also helps to design and produce our e-marketing materials. Valerie enjoys meeting new people and working with learners, and in particular "helping apprentices to find in many cases their first job, along with an apprenticeship opportunity".
Something people probably don't know about Valerie: In 1994 she had a part in a Catherine Cookson film.
Melody Taylor - Business Solutions Consultant 0191 4904651 mtaylor@accesstraining.org
Mel has worked in the training sector for 22 years, in sales, training and management roles. Her current role is to engage with companies and to find out their needs and training requirements, making sure that we provide an effective training solution. Mel loves the variety in her role and has a genuine interest in the many businesses she deals with.
Mel's Interests: Collecting teddy bears, gardening, reading, horse racing, country fairs, Egyptology and spooky stuff like ghost walks and haunted buildings.
Something people probably don't know about Mel: Mel has ridden a camel across the plateau at Giza and has spent a night in a haunted castle.
Steve Beavis - Skills Adviser: Accounts 0191 4904667 sbeavis@accesstraining.org
Steve is a qualified accountant, having achieved chartered status in 2005 and having worked for both big 4 accountancy firms and smaller organisations. He uses this experience in his role as Skills Adviser, supporting our accounting apprentices through their AAT qualifications. Steve finds his role fulfilling, in particular "helping other people to overcome the challenge of gaining a professional accounting qualification".
Something people probably don't know about Steve: As well as being able to juggle, Steve is also a qualified Dive master and has taught many people to dive, including some international rugby players!
Brian Diver - Skills Adviser 0191 4904655 bdiver@accesstraining.org
Brian has a background in both sport and business environments (including call centres and the insurance industry) and uses this experience to support and train learners in a wide range of job roles from customer service to teaching and learning. Brian is an Internal Verifier as well as an Assessor. Brian likes "the ethos and the real professionalism of Access" and really enjoys the 1 to 1 interaction with learners.
Something people probably don't know about Brian: Brian's into self sufficiency (the good life) which includes managing an allotment and keeping chickens and ducks. Don't scoff - he's also got a black belt in Judo!'
Nicola Brown - Learning Adviser 0191 4904653 nbrown@accesstraining.org
Nicola's background is as an administrator and trainer within the Employment Service. She joined the company 13 years ago as a trainer specialising in admin and customer service. She now has responsibility for in centre training covering a variety of subjects. She also provides specialist support in areas such as equality and diversity and the provision of information, advice and guidance (helping us to gain the prestigious Matrix award). Nicola loves her role, as she finds "working with young people keeps you young!"
Nicola's outside interests: She loves the arts and the cinema and works part-time in an art gallery.
Sue Tomlinson - Skills Adviser 0191 4904657 stomlinson@accesstraining.org
Sue spent 25 years working for BT in an HR role and as a manager before joining Access in 2006. Sue delivers training across a variety of qualifications and levels up to Management Level 5 and also co-ordinates our Young Apprentice Programme with local schools. She enjoys forging relationships with learners and their employers and "gets a real buzz when learners complete their qualification".
Sue's outside interests: She loves her holidays (Austria is a favourite destination) and enjoys spending time with her husband, walking in the north east countryside with her two miniature Dachshunds, Rocky and Maisie, aka The Princess and the Rock Star.
Gary Thorpe - Skills Adviser 0191 4904664 gthorpe@accesstraining.org
Gary had 15 years experience in industry (with roles including Warehouse Manager and Team Leader) before moving into training. He joined Access in 1998 and has used his industrial experience to support learners following qualifications in manufacturing operations and warehousing and distribution (he also acts as Internal Verifier for both programmes). In recent years Gary has developed an in depth knowledge of the security sector and has managed our Security Systems apprenticeship programme since 2004.
Gary's outside interests: He's football mad (particularly NUFC) and also has an interest in Military Aircraft of World War 2
Suzanne Miller - Skills Adviser 0191 4904665 smiller@accesstraining.org
Suzanne joined Access in 2001 having spent many years in demanding customer service environments, including the travel and tourism sector with time spent as an Air Stewardess and working on cruise ships. As a Skills Adviser, she works with learners following NVQs and apprenticeships in administration and customer service.
Something people probably don't know about Suzanne: She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Lorraine Robinson - Skills Adviser 0191 4904666 lrobinson@accesstraining.org
Lorraine worked for BT for 16 Years mainly in the HR department as a Team Leader, before joining Access. As a Skills Adviser she supports learners working towards qualifications in administration, customer service and accounting. She loves working with her learners and employers and appreciates the relaxed and professional approach to be found at Access.
Lorraine's outside interests: When not solving murders with DI Barnaby or listening to Paloma Faith and Dean Martin (quite a duo), Lorraine can usually be found out walking and spending nights under canvas.
Yvonne Proctor - Skills Adviser/Foundation Learning Programme Leader 0191 4904661 yproctor@accesstraining.org
Primarily from a secretarial background, Yvonne taught office skills for six years in various colleges until joining Access in 2002. Yvonne is a Skills Adviser covering administration, customer service and advice and guidance qualifications while also providing specialist support in Technical Certificate delivery and Key Skills. She delivers commercial IT courses for Access, as well as leading on our website development. Yvonne loves the people she works with; staff, employers and learners and says "my role is varied and I never get bored!"
Something people probably don't know about Yvonne: She climbed Ben Nevis for charity and couldn't walk or sit down for a week!
Jean Bambrough - Skills Adviser 0191 4904658 jbambrough@accesstraining.org
Jean had 25+ years in the travel industry as a customer service specialist prior to moving into training. Following 6 years with Key Training, Jean joined Access in 1999 and is proud to have helped hundreds of people to develop their skills and gain qualifications during her time with us. Her vast experience is used to support learners following programmes in administration, customer service, team leading and management.
Jean's outside interests: Cooking (her cakes and cheese scones always go down a treat at staff meetings) and visiting the west coast of Scotland, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.
Deborah Chapman - Skills Adviser 0191 4904659 dchapman@accesstraining.org
Deborah joined us in 2002 as a trainer, with previous experience as an Administrator and Training Coordinator in a range of public and private sector organisations. Deborah had previously gained teaching experience with Access on a placement as part of her Cert Ed, so had already made a very positive impression. Since joining us Deborah has worked as an off the job trainer, assessor and more recently a Skills Adviser where she supports learners following qualifications in administration and customer service.
Something people may not know about Deborah: She has done a bunjee jump and is learning to play the piano.
Stewart Shackleton - Skills Adviser 0191 4904656 sshackleton@accesstraining.org
Stewart has worked at Access for a number of years now. He brings with him many years experience in a variety of business sectors and organisations. This experience covers the hospitality sector, local governments, nationalised industries and self employment. Over many years Stewart has managed people in teams ranging in size from 1 to 130. One of the main reasons that Stewart moved into the training sector was to pass on this wealth of experience and to help others to achieve their own ambitions. He strongly believes that everyone can achieve given the right opportunities. "We are never too old to learn" is an idea in which Stewart strongly believes.
Something people probably don't know about Stewart: He writes and performs his own songs in a local folk club. He also has a new CD available for sale!
Kath Anderson - Finance Manager 0191 4904646 kanderson@accesstraining.org
Kath has been with Access for more than 20 years having previously worked in payroll / accounts for a number of manufacturing, engineering and print companies. Kath is responsible for all aspects of our financial and administrative operations, providing management accounts and overseeing our management information systems. A devotee of Mediterranean cruises (and Caribbean and...), she swears she can't afford to retire, even if she wanted to!
Alison Cruise - Administrator 0191 4904646 acruise@accesstraining.org
Alison joined Access 12 years ago, after completing a course with Access aimed at people wishing to update their skills in order to return to the workplace. She's since gone on to achieve numerous NVQs in IT, Customer Service and Administration. She is often the first person someone hears when contacting Access and provides first class support to our own staff as well as our customers. Alison is our 'quality control' for documents ensuring that all written correspondence, internal and external documents, match our (her) high standards. Alison enjoys her job very much particularly the variety in her role, while she also says "the management and staff are fab!" - Nice one Alison?
Carole Wilson - Administrator 0191 4904649 cwilson@accesstraining.org
Carole joined us 17 years ago, also as a trainee on a 'return to the workplace' course, and hasn't looked back since. Having achieved admin, customer service and accounting qualifications, Carole is now responsible for our financial claims and for administering all of our learner records. She uses her eye for detail to ensure that our quality systems for admin and claims are tightly controlled.
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