From The Director – Lee Barker

I am an enthusiastic outgoing person who has worked in the construction industry all of my life, having moved into teaching construction activities in 2007 to provide young people and disadvantaged people with the skills to make a career and to build a future for themselves.

Lee Barker tells Gavriel Hollander about how developing young people’s talents can help change lives

Key Achievements

• Qualified and experienced assessor and instructor with 15 years of teaching experience and 20 years of industry experience.
• Centre Manager at a training and assessment centre with 4 years of management experience, managing a dynamic team of 5 staff, and managing the budget to provide cost effective training and education solutions.
• Developing and delivering construction courses in plastering, joinery, bricklaying, plumbing and tiling.
• Securing external funding from a variety of external sources to ensure financial feasibility.
• AWARDS
  Women into Construction Award winner in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
• Best Women Apprentice Award winner in 2011 and 2012.
• 24Housing Awards winner for Best Training Programme in 2016.
• Building & Construction Awards winner for Best Training Programme in 2014
• Over 12 years I was entrusted to build the Skills Centre from nothing to become the largest provider of alternative education provision that Salford has ever had, engaging up to 70 key stage 4 school learners per week.
• Negotiated and managed education programmes in partnership with Greater Manchester Police, Salford City Council, The Prince’s Trust, Enthusiasm, Fresh Living, and Motivate, as well as 10 local authority pupil referral units.

Key skills

• 30 years of experience as a qualified plasterer and construction operative.
• 12 years of experience as a qualified assessor and tutor/instructor.
• Strong service delivery, management skills and experience working with NEET learners from 14-16, 16-18 year old learners, and adult learners.
• Strong people management skills, management of assessors/tutors across all disciplines of construction.
• Management of caseloads and continual exceeding of targets.
• Effective recruitment of new learners.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills .
• Strong communication skills, ability to operate at all levels within an organisation.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills.
• Project management and budget control of construction projects.
• Confident and outgoing personality.