1. Linda Atkinson
email: l.atkinson2@live.co.uk
Telephone: 07540 098588
I am a hard-working, self-motivated individual who has over 25 years of experience within
the field of vocational training, assessment and verification. My areas of expertise are within
Business Administration, Retail, Customer Service, Sales, Warehousing, Team Leading &
Management plus I have knowledge within areas such as Functional Skills and Health &
Social Care.Professional in all I do, I am also friendly &supportive with the ability to develop
and improve others’ knowledge and practice.
Employment History
National Sales Academy – January 2015 – January 2016
Employed as a work based assessor as part of the delivery team, I deliver Sales level 2 & 3,
Customer Service level 2 & 3, Business Administration, Team Leading & Management level
3 qualifications in various environments in Cheshire, usually as part of apprenticeships.
Recently I have also been co-opted onto the Quality Team on a part time basis, so verify
within these areas also and deliver training to staff, as required.
YMCATraining – October 2004 – December 2014
Initially a Business Admin and Retail Assessor at Warrington, then also a part time verifier
for other centres in the NW. Later I gained promotion to become a full time Regional IV for
Retail, Business Admin, Customer Service and Warehousing sectors in the NW.
This role included visiting centres, planning interventions for timely achievement, providing
constructive feedback and 1:1 support for assessors, holding meetings and liaising with
internal and external colleagues to ensure quality assurance was embedded together with
timely achievement. As part of this role I championed the embedding of Key Skills and later
Functional Skills within all sectors being delivered across the company, working with other
vocational experts to develop projects and resources to enable learners to develop skills in
key areas such as Maths & English in particular. I also became involved as a verifier for
Foundation Training, later the Study Programme qualifications including Employability and
Personal Development, working with awarding bodies, colleagues and employers to ensure
quality of delivery throughout. I worked with City & Guild’s to produce resources, tests and
assignments especially for Business Admin and Customer Service. I maintained a small
caseload - both to keep my own vocational competence up to date and also to enable me to
support my colleagues more effectively.
For the last year of this employment, I worked as the National IV for Retail, Business Admin,
Customer Service, Warehousing & Storage plus Leadership & Management. This role was
more remote, mainly using e-portfolio, so I had to adapt to dealing more remotely with my
colleagues and assessors; however I was able to use the relationships, skills and experience
I had plus develop new skills such as using Webinars and Skype for meetings,
standardisation etc. to maintain and continually improve practice.

2. The Touchstone Group - March 2001 to October 2004
I delivered training and assessment of apprenticeships & other qualifications in Retail,
Business Admin, Customer Service, Warehousing level 2 -4 plus Management qualifications
level 3 – 5. My area was Greater Merseyside and my caseload was 30-40 individuals.
The Training Network Group – January 2000 to March 2001
I delivered training and assessment of Modern Apprenticeships in the Retail & Customer
Service sectors with the Birkenhead and Wirral area, visiting employer premises to do so.
North Wales Training – January 1999 to December 1999
Training and assessment of learners in Retail and Customer Service, mainly within Greater
Manchester, Cheshire and the Wirral areas, at the employer’s premises, working with
various funding providers.
Redundant - June 1998 to January 1999 -After long term employment in rail industry
NorthWestern Trains - September 1994 to June 1998
I was responsible for the design, development and delivery of courses from induction for all
staff to more specific Customer Service roles. I also covered the role of Internal Training
Consultant for the last 16 months gaining experience in managing a budget, negotiating
contracts with external suppliers of specialist training such as IOSH and NEBBS and the
monitoring and evaluation of this training. Also I marketed and delivered training courses to
other rail companies as internal customers.
Other roles within the rail industry – July 1976 to September 1994
Vocational Education, Training and Development
Functional Skills level 2 – English, Mathematics and ICT
PTLLS Award
Business Admin level 3 NVQ
A1 Award
Internal Verifier Award (D34) Updated to V1 with YMCAT
Certificate in Safety Practices
Certificate in Training Practice (CIPD)
Presentation Skills Diploma
Skills Trainer & Assessor Award (D32/33) Updated to A1 with YMCAT
Instructional Techniques Award (C21)
Facilitator Skills Training Award
I attend all national and local CPD events possible to maintain and update my CPD within
the areas I cover including Skills for Life and Functional Skills.
Hobbies and Interests
My hobbies include cake making and decorating, especially for celebrations and also
catering for such occasions. This involves a great deal of planning and organisation, working
with others and alone so that the event will be a success.
I do enjoy many handicraftsand gardening – useful as I have a relatively new home.
References
Available on request.