Manny walks to work on National Walk to Work Day for the second year

Manny enjoyed himself so much last year walking to work that he decided to do it again this year! Mind you, if he walked a bit more often to work then he'd be more toned than he is at the moment. But, that would mean that one of us would have to take him home each night so he could walk to work as he usually lives in our confined space!

A beautiful day in Bunbury this year, here he is at the Inlet just enjoying the sun and taking in the view.

Good on you Manny for making the effort! I think you might have been the only one this year to remember to do this!

CTS - where your training matters

How CTS compares with the latest ABS Labour Mobility Survey statistics

The latest labour mobility survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has been released and I thought I'd see if the staff at CTS fit these stats or not! There's a article on these statistics at HC online.

Our current staff commenced on these dates:

Karen Williams (Director) - August 1998 (14 years 1 month)
John Williams (Director) - August 1998 (14 years 1 month)
Jeanette Denham - January 2008 (4 years 8 months)
Sally Wright - March 2008 (4 years 6 months)
Lisa Donaldson - July 2009 (3 years 2 months)
Orlando Fazzolari - July 2010 (2 years 2 months)

John Bromham - July 2010 (2 years 2 months)
Rahbia Sultani - February 2011 (1 year 7 months)
Angela Bruce - March 2011 (1 year 6 months)
Tracy Mepham - June 2012 (3 months)
Denise Barnard - September 2012

So, with 81% of our workforce having been in their job for fewer than five years, we fall outside of the national statistics! (They found that 56% of workers have been in their jobs for fewer than five years.)

How does your company stack up?

CTS - where your training matters

Manny's update on Managing Director John Williams

Our Managing Director, John, has been extremely busy since I introduced you to him in January this year. The best thing though is that I'm seeing a lot more of him than in previous years!

Up until about July he was still flying in and out of Port Hedland coaching every second week at BHP. He's been doing that for 3 years so it's about time he had a break so he only goes up there every now and then although the other John is still doing regular stints.

Without this commitment he has been able to devote more time to sourcing new business and doing classroom training for our bigger clients and one-on-one training with some of our students - areas in which he excels and enjoys. He's one of our main trainers in the Skill Set for Mining Supervisors and the course is proving really popular in the South West at the moment (he's off to Tom Price next month) so there must be more mining activity in the pipeline, which can only be good for the WA economy.

He and Karen really enjoy getting out of the office and training on sites that necessitate the taking of the CTS caravan. July saw them in Boddington training in the 5 day Safety Representative course and also conducting audits in Manjimup and Albany. You may remember seeing my blog of our trip to the Stirling Range National Park towards the end of that month - we had a great time. In fact, John and Karen are off again at the end of this week to undertake safety audits in Manjimup and Albany but they've said I can't tag along - never mind, I'll find something else to do.

Although John's calendar is pretty full, he is always happy to talk to past, present and future students and clients so just give him a call (9791 6611), email him or contact him through his LinkedIn account.

CTS - where your training matters

TAE40110 Conducting Group Training is on this week

Facilitator Jeanette Denham

Our dedicated group of students is continuing to attend workshops to complete their TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in record time with the next one being on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The Conducting Group Training workshop is built around the units BSBCMM401A Make a presentation and TAEDEL401A Plan, organise and deliver group-based learning and, as with the others, has a classroom component and an on-line component. Attendance is not compulsory at the workshops as all learning can be done on-line but it does help, especially if you are new to the training area.

As I've mentioned before, the beauty of the way we have structured this course means that after completing the common on-line module you can commence with any group of units. A "new" student commenced at the last workshop and another "new" student is commencing at this workshop. A couple of students are currently completing the on-line module so hopefully we will see them at the next workshop which is scheduled in October. An added bonus is that as everyone is at a different stage or competency in their learning they are able to help other students understand any concepts they may be having difficulty with if the trainer is busy with someone else.

REMEMBER, you can commence groups of units in any order once you have completed the common module so look at the dates and see what will fit your busy schedule.

Designing Training (2 units) - 02/10/2012 or 10/12/2012
Conducting Workplace Training (2 units) - 29/10/2012 & 30/10/2012
Conducting Group Training (2 units) - 12/09/2012 & 13/09/2012 or 20/11/2012 & 21/11/2012
Assessing Nationally Recognised Training (also known as the Assessor Skill Set) (3 units) - 23/10/2012 & 24/10/2012 or 26/11/2012 & 27/11/2012

Call 9791 6611, view our website or email us if you would like any further information.

CTS - where your training matters

Manny's take on Finance and Compliance Officer Tracy Mepham

Tracy started with CTS in June 2012 and helps Karen and Sally with the finance and student contract areas. She has managed really well to juggle all the different things that get passed her way - I haven't heard her say "no" once!

Before coming to work with us Tracy was a small business owner but I think she is enjoying (at the moment) not having to make all of the decisions all of the time. From Wyalkatchem originally she has the loud farmers voice and laugh (for reaching the end of the paddock) so if you're down the front of the building and you can hear laughing it is sure to be her as she has a great sense of humour as well. Mind you, she seems to be taking her time to warm towards me but I'm sure I can change that!

Although Tracy has only been with us for 3 months she showed her true mettle at the staff day in July. Not only was she a dab hand at the drums but she was on the winning team - I think she has a fairly competitive streak so watch out the rest of you! Mind you, she didn't take the time to come inside and talk to me on the night but then again, neither did anyone else. What good is it being the mascot of CTS if you're just ignored all the time? Maybe I need to get my job descriptor changed . . . . . . . . . .

Tracy is well suited to her position at CTS as she has completed the Certificate IV in Business Management and attended just about all of the MYOB courses run through Ebiz Solutions here in Bunbury.

In her spare time Tracy enjoys gardening, socialising (in restaurants and pubs), travelling to far off exotic places and kayaking.

CTS - where your training matters

Manny helps out at the Safety Representative Course this week

This week we have a full class (12) in our Safety Representative course so it's fairly crowded in the training room. I've been helping Orlando and John Williams with their delivery but I have been relegated to a seat down the back!

Tomorrow John Bromham and Lisa Donaldson will be involved in the training so I hope that they too remember that I am there to offer assistance and am not just a pretty face!

Our students are from the health, engineering, construction and electrical industries so we have a mixed bag this course. Always so much better to have a number of industries represented as there are lots of different view points being made.

Due to demand, we have had to schedule another course this month so if you would like to attend, we are offering the training between the 24th and 28th September - just before the Long Weekend.

Call in 9791 6611 or email training@ctsconsult.com.au to secure your place.

CTS - where your training matters