Core learnings at Nationwide

The Nationwide people team has been getting to grips with the technical activity involved in the core of the business at the Nationwide technical training and professional development academy in recent weeks.

Participants involved in the first day included Scott High, head of talent acquisition and engagement, Darren Neagle, communication and engagement business partner, along with technical trainers Shaun Sandford and Matthew Stevenson-Smith.

The group all took part in a paint familiarisation course which saw them design and paint their own panels.

Scott High said, ‘What a fantastic day. It was a very valuable experience for me, meaning I can confidently speak to future Nationwiders and current Nationwiders in more detail about what we and they do. I can fully appreciate how skilled our talent is.

‘It’s important to me, that the Talent Team has an understanding of what our core business does. Having this knowledge will really help with our objective of having the right people, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time.’

The paint session was led by one of Nationwide’s experienced technical training managers, Paul Edenbrow. Beginning with a classroom session all about PPE and the processes behind using the equipment, Paul then took the team out and showed them step by step how to prepare their panels ready for the paint booth.

He said, ‘The objective of the paint familiarisation course was to give the team members an insight into the skills and process required to apply topcoat materials. The team members produced excellent visually effective designs whilst mastering masking and application techniques, this led to a great day for all involved in the event.’

The team designed their panels, mixed their paint and sprayed the panels. And, while they all enjoyed themselves, they also appreciated just how important it is to understand the role of a paint technician in more depth.

Darren said, ‘The experience was great, and really insightful, it was eye-opening to see how much skill is involved and how our teams really are mastering techniques. For me the theory involved in the session that included the importance of PPE and safety was something that I took away from the session it reiterated the reasons behind the strict compliance.’

The second session involved Gillian McKenzie, talent acquisition business partner, Katie Tyler, talent acquisition specialist, Toria Lorman-Connolly, people team co-ordinator and Ellie Weaver, communications and engagement officer, who all joined Chris McGowan, technical training manager, for a day of panel beating and welding.

Again the team was able to gain further insight into the skill that is involved in this type of work and role. They each repaired a dent on a panel, and tried their hands at Butt welds, Spot welds and T-Fillet welds.

Toria said, ‘As a reasonably new team member of Nationwide I found the day interesting and informative, understanding the complexities of how to panel beat and weld enables me to put myself in the shoes of our technicians.’

Gillian McKenzie added, ‘Learning more about the technical skills of the business was great. Whilst the day was good fun and gave me a great insight and appreciation for the level of work, attention to detail and skill required, I think I will leave it to the professionals from here.’