Q & A with Rachael Spence, Competence Co-ordinator at Caledonia Competence……………………………………………………………………………………..
Rachael Spence Caledonia Competence
Tell us about your background and why you joined Caledonia Competence?
Before starting a family, my background had predominantly been sales within the transport industry. I loved my time in that world, however sales is never 9-5 and on my return to work I wanted to take a new direction that gave me a better work life balance. I wanted a career that would still be very people orientated; having enjoyed developing my sales team I wanted to find a role where I could continue to deliver proactive and responsive learning and development (L&D) activities. My first L&D role was with an Oil Consultancy firm where I was responsible for company inductions and supporting senior management to implement talent development solutions giving maximum benefit to both individuals and the company.
My next L&D role was with Subsea 7 where I initially looked after the certification, training and competence for the diving crews, before moving to look after a portion of the marine crew. Both roles were fast paced and sometimes challenging, but I loved it! I was very fortunate to work with many talented people whom I learnt so much from and had the good fortune to make some great friends, which always made going to work easy. My position with Subsea 7 was as a contractor and when the downturn happened in 2014, like many others, my contract was not renewed.
However, as they say “when one door closes, another opens…” I was aware that Gavin, my line manager at Subsea 7, had also left and had taken the leap to start up Caledonia Competence so I gave him a call to offer my assistance. It was just a few hours here & there to begin with but steadily increasing alongside our client portfolio and well the rest is history….
What sort of activities have you been involved in since you joined?
The work can be wide-ranging, from project work, organising training courses, business development, website management… and I find the variety is a big motivator, no day is ever the same and with that comes invaluable personal learning opportunities. A focus on quality is important to me and as a team we always want to get the best results for our clients.
What do you see as the unique selling point of Caledonia Competence?
We understood the importance of competence assurance and the potential consequences of ignoring it. We successfully deliver high quality work whilst offering flexibility to help clients of all sizes. Our clients are our priority, we take the time to get to know them and understand their businesses, we see ourselves as an extension to their organisation during projects and beyond. Our experience allows us to guide our clients through every step of their competence journey; from the development of standards, buy-in from colleagues and peers, implementation and success measurements. Our aim is to take the complication out of competence.
