Marilyn's Story

A wide range of specialist skills and abundance of professional contacts means Learning South West’s clients will never be short of expert advice and support.

Learning South West’s innovative Kaleidoscope project is creating a pool of experienced consultants to ensure clients have access to a wealth of specialist skills, supported by Learning South West’s unique crosscutting approach to project management.

Tiverton based consultant Marilyn Hartwell has 30-years experience working in education. From her grassroots as a language teacher Marilyn has gone on to work in both the UK and Oman as an inspector, become a writer of learning materials for the Skills for Life strategy Unit and the Standards Unit, and is a specialist in work-based learning.

Marilyn has been working with Learning South West to develop a skills audit, on behalf of SLIM, for Train to Gain skills brokers in the South West.

“Our client needed some specialist help,” said Marilyn. ”It was a particularly complex project as there were so many stakeholders and we were working in an area of ambivalence. It would have been easy to get it wrong and there was a real danger we could alienate the brokers.

“To ensure a positive outcome all the stakeholders were involved in shaping the project and I used my regional and national contacts to gather information and expertise.

“Quality assurance is very important for Kaleidoscope so I was supported by a number of critical readers including Learning South West’s Chief-Executive Tim Boyes-Watson.

“Working with Learning South West meant I was very aware of the wider implications for the region. We used the opportunity of the skills audit to clarify key issues for the client and, we hope, make a valuable contribution to the debate about the role of the skills brokers in the south west.

“The big strength of Kaleidoscope is the range of experience and huge number of contacts consultants have to offer Learning South West’s clients.”

Learning South West’s Chief-Executive Tim Boyes-Watson added:”The Learning South West seal of approval means clients will receive the highest quality support from consultants. Their experience and expertise will be a great asset to the service we can provide.”

Marilyn Hartwell