About Us
The North West Training Consortium is a regional team composed of managers, administrators, NVQ Assessors, Internal Verifiers and trainers.
Lesley Thompson, Consortium Director, is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and also holds qualifications in Management and Learning and Development. An experienced trainer and NVQ Assessor / Verifier, Lesley is a qualified Probation Officer who spent most of her career in operational probation work as a practitioner and manager before moving full time into the world of Learning and Development. In her current role, Lesley manages the work of the Consortium and works closely with national and regional colleagues to ensure that the functions of the Consortium are carried out to the highest standard.
Julia Summerfield is responsible for managing the regional NVQ Assessment Centre offering qualifications approved by City and Guilds and OCR. A qualified NVQ assessor and internal verifier, Julia ensures quality provision of NVQs in Community Justice, Management and Learning and Development.
Julia's background is with the National Probation Service as a qualified and experienced practitioner. Since joining the North West Training Consortium she has developed her interest in management development and is a trained executive coach. Julia has achieved Chartered Manager status and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute.
Julia works closely with the sector skills council, Skills for Justice, promoting the use of National Occupational Standards to support recruitment, training and performance management.
Lynda McDonald joined the Consortium in October 2008 as Quality Manager with responsibility for Internal Verification processes, quality assurance of learning and development processes, staff supervision and oversight of the Level 3 NVQ in Community Justice.
Lynda is a qualified NVQ Assessor and Internal Verifier. Her background is with the Probation Service as an experienced probation officer, working across a variety of roles. Most recently however she worked as Learning and Development Officer in Greater Manchester Probation Area Learning and Development Unit before taking up post for NWC.
Pam Whittaker – Pam is Staff Development Manager and joined the consortium in 2002. She is a qualified and experienced NVQ assessor and Internal Verifier. She qualified as a Probation Officer in 1991, achieving a M.A/CQSW in Probation and Social Work. Pam was a generic Probation officer for a number of years before going on to specialise in working with sex offenders and high risk offenders.
Pam is also a qualified psychotherapist and counselor. Since joining the consortium Pam has been increasingly interested in the field of Learning and Development. She is currently working towards achieving qualifications in PTLLS and a Learning Sets Facilitator. She manages a number of staff across the North West region and is involved in key activities undertaken by the consortium. She regularly delivers events such as A1 training and events dealing with managing performance.
Jackie Blair - Jackie joined the Consortium in July 2008 in the role of Effective Practice Training Manager (EPTM) managing accredited programmes across the region in collaboration with Training Managers. Jackie also has responsibility for and has been involved in developing, delivering and managing a range of Offender Management training programmes both nationally and regionally including ASPIRE, PSO Development and Intermediate Sentence Awareness training.
Jackie's background is with the Probation Service and as an experienced Probation Officer has worked in a variety of roles including Courts, Hostels and Offender Management. Jackie holds a Diploma in Social Work, MA in Criminal Justice, Post Graduate teaching qualification in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and A1 award in NVQ assessing.
Irene Doyle – Irene is the Consortium Administrator and joined the Consortium shortly after it was set up in 1998, after working for the Probation Service for 25 years. Irene works directly to the Consortium Director and is responsible for managing the administration team at the Consortium Management Unit. There is considerable paperwork and a variety of processes involved in maintaining an effective assessment centre and Irene plays a key role in coordinating this.
She oversees administrative responsibility for regional training events and organises conferences for both large and small numbers, and is involved from the beginning of the process in the planning through to attending the event