In this article, we’d like to introduce you to Tracey Hornigold, FI Skills Coach and Quality and Compliance Lead at our London Centre. Learn about Tracey’s journey to becoming an FI Skills Coach and how her experience has been coaching apprentices at FI.
Where did you work before coming to FI?
I started my career in retail working at Debenhams before moving on to work for Andy’s Records for 17 ½ years until it went into administration. In 2004, I moved into training and assessing, working for a small provider called Touchstone. This is where I qualified with my Assessor Award and my Internal Verifier Award. Touchstone was bought out by a larger organisation and during this time I had a career break to start a family.
After my break, I commenced employment with a local training provider on a part-time basis and I continued to work there for 8 years in various roles including Lead IQA and Apprenticeship Team Manager. I also had experience in Quality and Management with Halfords before working for Kaplan as a coach for Accountancy and Tax for 18 months.
What led to you becoming a Skills Coach at FI?
I joined First Intuition in March 2021 as a Skills and Development Coach for the London Team. I’ve just recently moved into a new role as Quality and Compliance Lead. Quality is my passion and I am looking forward to developing this and working with the compliance team. I am currently completing my EQA Qualification which is a great opportunity to develop further knowledge of Quality.
From my first day at FI, I was welcomed by a great team and given a full meaningful induction. It was refreshing to be given the opportunity to learn the working practices and to shadow experienced coaches. I was given ample opportunity to develop my knowledge and understanding of FI and all my questions were answered. I enjoyed building a rapport with the students and managers from day one and it has been amazing seeing how the students have progressed. Being a Skills Coach at FI is both rewarding and enjoyable.
What is your favourite thing about working at FI?
My favourite things about First Intuition are:
• The culture
• The support and development opportunities
• The people I work with
What do you think makes a good Skills Coach
What makes a good coach:
• Being positive and happy
• Being pro-active
• Being accessible
• Sharing ideas and best practices with others
What are the main challenges of being a coach?
I would say the main challenge is running out of time – there are never enough hours in the day!
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