Shelagh Fairbank – Director and Owner of Fairbank Training

Shelagh is a highly self-motivated, enthusiastic and fun-loving person with multi-faceted experience in the IT industry involved in training IT Software, Personal Development and Communications Skills.  Through commitment and dedication, Shelagh's career has progressed successfully in the industry over the years encompassing Sales, Management, Training, Customer Relations & Services, Telephone & Sales Support, Account Management & Development, Communications and general Consultancy. 


Shelagh has been active in the IT and Communications industries for 23 years.  She has run a successful training organisation for over 17 years, helping people in the Corporate and SME market in a variety of industries, to improve their skills in IT applications, personal development and communication.

Through Fairbank Training and with a team of freelance training consultants supporting the organisation, Shelagh has managed many projects that have taken her team of trainers around the UK and into Europe.  As part of the tailored approach Fairbank Training offers, Shelagh has regularly designed and conducted workshops and seminars to large audiences on communications and software on both standard and bespoke systems.  She has worked not only within the IT arena but also with Human Resources on Talent and Performance Review programmes and Sales Management on induction for Sales Representatives.  Looking at business processing and procedure management and working with Customer Relationship Management systems Shelagh has developed workshops and self-paced training modules to complement new systems and practices. 

Shelagh generates high standards of performance through personal innovation and team building.  With a focus on flexibility and achievement, her own success has been a result of her all-round experience in the industry, providing her with a good understanding of Clients' needs relating to their business objectives, budget and time constraints.

Shelagh’s personal skills cover; Business Processing, Project Management, Facilitator, MS Office (Windows, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher & Visio), Mind Manager, Networking & Communications, Customer Relationship Management, Electronic Document Management Systems.

Alan is a specialist training consultant in the Graphics industry and his experience spans over 20 years originating from a graphic designer role.  He has worked for both large and small companies and this experience has enabled him to develop and run effective training courses to all levels of competency.

Drawing on his working knowledge of design, his courses are hands-on and tailored to the needs of the client and delegates.  This flexibility ensures that the delegates go away at the end of the session with new and effective ways to use their designated software.

Brigitte believes in working in partnership with businesses to provide organisational and management development solutions. Having worked in the field of Training and Development both in the UK and abroad since the early 1980s Brigitte is experienced in working together with people at all levels and cultures across a variety of industries for example in education, finance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and security services.

Brigitte's strengths are to quickly gain an understanding of customers needs while building strong trusting relationships with everyone she works with. Working enthusiastically and flexibly Brigitte recognises that business needs are varied for every organisation and that each will be at different stages of their journeys in meeting their vision and goals.

Brigitte specialises in designing a full range of interpersonal skills development programmes. She is also successful at designing tailored programmes, delivering group workshops, one-to one coaching and training in-house trainers.Some of the Development programmes Brigitte has successfully designed include Change Management, Facilitation Skills, Team Leader Skills, Team Building, Customer Care, Effective Performance Reviews and Train the Trainer.

An accredited practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming, Team Management Systems and Linked Psychometric Assessment (a sophisticated psychometric assessment and analysis system) and IRIS (a tool used to identify individuals to meet an organisation's current and future needs, as well as identifying people who have the potential to be used at middle and senior management levels). Brigitte uses the appropriate skills and/or tools to help support individuals within organisations to deliver and ultimately, make an impact on a company's bottom line.

Cassie having worked in the IT industry for over 25 years, has extensive IT training experience, from the early years of working for Lotus Development through to running a successful training company that achieved IITT status for commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

Return on investment for the customer is key to every training event and the demonstrable benefit of primary concern to Cassie as the focus of her MSc dissertation was formative evaluation which requires validating training prior to the event to improve and demonstrate the return on investment.

In addition to running a training organisation for several years, providing a wide range of Lotus and Microsoft courses, and working in roles as a Project Manager, Business Analyst, Rapid Application Developer and Customer Relationship Manager have helped to focus the requirements for training delivered to end users. Cassie’s empathy with the customer on the task of translating new skills into the workplace have helped ensure that each training event she runs is a continual success.

Colin has extensive experience in the training and project management fields spanning over 20 years. His numerous projects have delivered quality, measurable results across change programmes that has impacted organisation with a global workforce and tens of thousands of staff. He has worked with challenging operational environments where training solutions need to be tailored to delivery around 24/7 service organisations.

As well as development and delivery expertise in both IT and management training programmes, Colin has skills in the set up of project management services to ensure the successful implementation of training interactions, while maintaining the operational integrity of the business. Colin is a PRINCE2 Practitioner, and has also completed the Certificate of Training Practice. He is an associate of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and a Senior Associate of the Institute of IT Training.

Corinne is a transformational coach and trainer who has worked in the fields of management and personal development for 15 years. She worked in the public sector before setting up her own consultancy in 2004 and has been involved in leadership and management programmes, as well as women's enterprise, performance and business coaching, training and consultancy.  She has worked with a whole range of clients, from individuals and groups through to SME's and corporates.

Corinne is passionate about making a difference and has the rare ability to relate to people at all levels. She has an enthusiasm and optimism that is infectious and holds the position that anything is possible, it's just a question of how.

Corinne's professional skill has been built up through hundreds of hours of one-to-one coaching, training and facilitation. She is an Associate Credentialed Coach with the International Coach Federation, and a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Time Line Therapy™. She also holds the Diploma in Management Studies and Certificate in Education.

Farhad is a CIMA qualified accountant with specialist experience in spreadsheet and database design, consultancy and training. Over the years he has built up considerable experience in business and systems analysis, systems design and development, support and training. He has written numerous systems involved with business planning, modelling and budgeting, marketing, order processing and invoicing, stock control and personnel management.

Over a period of 15 years, Farhad has carried out both corporate and academic training on a one-to-one and small group basis for a number of organisations in the public and private sectors. His main areas of expertise are Microsoft Office specialising in Access, Excel and Visual Basic and financial and accounting training covering bookkeeping, financial and management accounting, costing and budgeting.

Feridun is a freelance Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultant and Microsoft Certified Trainer with over twenty years' experience in the IT industry. He graduated with a degree in Electronic Engineering from York University but soon became an IT professional and his early training career included Windows Server, Active Directory and other infrastructure courses.

In 2005, Feridun crossed over into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM world starting with version 1.2. His wide experience in Microsoft Dynamics CRM expands into areas of training, installation, customization and support. He works with many Dynamics CRM Resellers and Partners, as well as having his own clients. In August 2005, he taught one of the very first CRM 3.0 beta courses to a selected class of CRM Partners.

Feridun also works with Microsoft Business Solutions on CRM Courseware and Exam Development and has delivered Train-the-Trainer courses to Dynamics Professionals interested in becoming Microsoft Certified Trainers. From 2005 to 2008 inclusive, Feridun helped as a Technical Learning Guide at TechEd and at Convergence in 2007 and 2008.

Frank has over thirty years' experience as a Learning and Development Consultant. He has worked with people at all levels and across a range of business sectors, including local authorities, banking and charities. He has balanced his portfolio by working with groups on Personal Development related areas such as Customer Service Excellence, Time Management, Supervisory Skills and Bullying and Aggression in the Workplace.

Over the last ten years, Frank has worked as an independent consultant and training specialist, delivering small to large scale awareness training programmes to support the embedding of Equality and Diversity into organisational culture. The Scottish Police College has benefited from his workshop on Assessing Workplace Banter. The developing economic downturn has resulted in Frank working with organisations involved in restructuring and re-engineering. As part of employee exit strategies, he has delivered numerous workshops on How to Get that Job, Coping With Stress, Coping With Change, Interview Presentation Skills and Life and Career Planning.

Franks skills, knowledge and almost instant rapport, coupled with his facilitation style which he calls "Edutainment", complements the full range of learning methods, results in a high level of client and participant satisfaction. Reluctant participants, who are mandated to attend training events as part of statutory requirements, leave highly motivated and is a testament to Frank's methods.

Gayna has over 20 years experience in Learning and Development and has worked across a range of business sectors including retail banking and aviation.She works across the entire training cycle from training delivery to managing large scale training programs in support of major change initiatives.Her training groups have often been multi-cultural and she worked for several years in Europe.

Gayna has worked primarily on personal development related areas such as induction, communication skills, supervisory skills, managing people through change and performance management. She has extensive experience as a line manager and this enables her to be credible and pragmatic when training supervisory staff and managers. In addition, as a Business Practitioner of NLP and a registered PRINCE2 practitioner, she combines both the soft and hard skills of business management.

Heather is an Executive/Leadership Coach and trainer, focusing on excellence and awareness who helps and inspires people and businesses in IT and Telecoms to transcend their conventional limits. She gained her practitioner and master practitioner qualifications in NLP, hypnotherapy and Timeline Therapy™ in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

Heather qualified as a business coach with US based B/Coach in 2005, although she had been coaching in a less formal capacity as a senior Professional Services Manager for four years prior. She has over fifteen years experience in business and IT consultancy and is fully aware of the challenges facing leadership in changing organisations. She holds a Professional Diploma in Management as part of the MBA programme and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computing for Commerce and Industry. Heather qualified as a Trainer of NLP, NLP Coaching and Time Line Therapy™ in 2008.

Heather's primary focus is on rebuilding or re-birthing coaching for business, corporate and personal evolvement, helping businesses and individuals through change, not only transforming their results but the core of who they are. She combines traditional business and corporate models (including soft skills training) with her own unique coaching processes to achieve real results. She has delivered workshops to corporate organisations, SME’s and individuals with equal success, as well as coaching one-to-one and groups.

Helen is an experienced Sales Director, business leader, Entrepreneur and Consultant, working primarily in the IT software and services industry for over 20 years. Her primary focus now is helping individuals and Companies drive sales effectiveness. Helen has worked for large corporate organisations, and large consulting firms (Big 4). She has significant experience in smaller more entrepreneurial organisations including a number of “start ups” in various forms.

Helen's expertise is in leading and coaching large complex sales and teams who are responsible for winning business.' She has a "hands on" approach with extensive operational experience managing teams. She understands the dynamics of developing new business and the importance of strategic account planning and development.

Helen has led teams in many vertical markets, such as Finance and Banking, Pharmaceutical, Retail and SME. Helen has also been responsible for integrating sales teams and changing sales focus from products to solutions with an emphasis on development of the customer value proposition. She is an intuitive leader who understands change management and about building sustainable sales practices and maximising team performance. Her most powerful asset is the ability to be sympathetic to the challenges her clients face, and win their trust and confidence, from which to unearth the issues/opportunities and drive change.

Helen is a graduate from Aston University with a BSc in Behavioral Science she has also completed the Sales Director Programme at Ashridge Business School and Leadership programmes from Henley Management College.

Hilary, being a user for many years on the applications she now trains, has a real understanding of the problems that some of her delegates experience. She has been involved in training for 13 years and covers not only general Microsoft Office, but specialises in many bespoke applications for Human Resources, providing one-to-one training for Managers and end users in Snowdrop's Personnel modules and group sessions in Talent and Performance Management modules. She also has vast experience in the Private Equity market for the financial industry.

Hilary's skills vary and over the years she has been involved in the full cycle of design and delivery, from developing and testing the software and producing documentation to support the product, to training users on the benefits of all aspects of the applications. Hilary believes that a patient, friendly but professional approach to training brings out the best in both individual and group and this is testimony to her popularity.

Ian is a highly successful Master Practitioner in NLP and in Hypnosis as an Application for Learning (having studied with Richard Bandler, Tad James and Robert Dilts - some of the leading experts in these fields). He also has certification in Myers Briggs Type Indicator. Since leaving Nottingham Trent University, Ian built his career ranging from IT and Sales Management to leading teams in major corporations across the UK.

Ian was founder and Director for over 10 years of a successful Management Training organisation leading an internal team and working with additional external training consultants, with a focus on the design and delivery of highly effective Leadership Profiling, Sales and Management Training, individual Coaching for Success and general Sales Consultancy.

Having been involved predominantly in the IT and Telecoms industries early in his career, Ian has attained wider experience in a number of additional industries, including Food & Drink, FMCG, Transport, the Police and the MOD. Through these organisations, he has travelled extensively throughout the world, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and Europe, working with different cultures, delivering successful management and leadership programmes.

Ian built up a broad work experience in sales and sales management, marketing, human resources, recruitment and general project management, during the 1970's and 80's, working with people at all levels of business. Ian's creative side has helped him design exhibition stands and showroom displays for companies and this experience has enabled him to pass on his knowledge to both large and small companies through the writing of sales and technical literature.

For almost 20 years Ian has been actively involved in IT training to all levels of personnel in publishing, engineering, pharmaceutical, banking and construction. He is a strong, good communicator and able to pick up complex subjects quickly and train people in terms that they find easy to understand. Ian's expertise spans a variety of Microsoft products to expert level including Project, where he is able to demonstrate not only the principles of overall project management, but also apply these skills using the most effective tools in the software. His skills also cover budget management, with a strong emphasis on the performance responsibilities that are key to the success of any organisation.

Ian is not only a good team member and motivator in a professional capacity but also in his personal life, through his interest of cycling. This passion lead him to be one of the most successful cycling coaches of the 1990's, where riders under his direction won 7 national championships, some even going on to ride in the World Championships and Tour de France.  This teamwork approach has since continued through his other great passion, that of music, where he is part of a band of other talented musicians.

Ian is a highly experienced, enthusiastic and motivated Senior Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt/Master Black Belt with extensive global experience. He is successful in a fast changing environment thanks to a pragmatic and flexible approach, attuning to immediate local needs whilst maintaining a strategic perspective and engaging all levels of the business. As well as delivering financial and customer benefits Ian is an enthusiastic and engaging trainer, with the ability to communicate complex subjects in a clear and effective manner. He has delivered a variety of learning and facilitated workshop sessions. His interpersonal and engagement skills make him an extremely effective coach and mentor.

Ian is GE Capital certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt. He has over ten years in Financial Service (most notably with GE Capital and NU/AVIVA) and experience in a range of other industries. During his 12 years with GE Capital, Ian worked in the UK and North America successfully leading technology projects in various business areas before joining the International team to work across Europe.

Janette's passionate about helping people and organisations reach their potential.She has been actively involved in leadership programmes, women’s enterprise, executive coaching, management development, and independent training and consultancy. A qualified director and coach, Janette demonstrates independent judgement on strategic, business performance and customer service issues in highly competitive arenas, excels at thinking outside the box, getting underneath issues and developing realistic and practical solutions to advance individuals and businesses.

Janette's career covers more than 30 years’ business and management experience incorporating a commitment to developing people to grow themselves and their organisations. Her involvement spans various commercial management roles in the UK and Europe. On return to the UK, Janette was active in building and developing relationships with foreign and UK owned companies designing and providing business support across various industry sectors to provide the right business conditions to attract and retain inward investors.

In recent years Janette has worked as an independent consultant and trainer specialising in personal and business development benefiting a range of clients in both public and private sectors. Whether clients are just starting out or highly experienced senior level, Janette brings a depth of understanding and approachable style to all areas.

Jim has almost 30 years' experience in the IT industry and is a passionate corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability professional, experienced in developing and implementing programmes for organisational development and sustainable technology. Prior to forming his own consulting and coaching business he was head of CSR and sustainability for Sun Microsystems. Representing Sun with clients, business partners, The Carbon Trust, Cambridge Programme for Sustainability and the CBI Climate Change Task force.

Jim has worked at UK, European and global levels for Lotus Development, IBM and Sun Microsystems. His experience also includes programme and project management, product innovation and marketing, marketing communications, business development, organisational development, knowledge management, policy and strategy development, coaching and mentoring.

Jim has written 5 Steps to Profit From Corporate Social Responsibility and is currently studying for a BSc in Environmental Studies.

Lara has been an IT trainer for over 13 years training on the Microsoft Office Suite and Sage Accounting and Payroll software. She favours the mathematical and logical products such as Excel, Access, Sage and Project having been a maths teacher for 5 years prior to starting training. Having also been in an Excel Analysis role for 5 years, Lara has many real life examples of this product in the workplace. She is a qualified Microsoft Certified Trainer for versions from 2003 to 2010 proving an extremely high level of knowledge in Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and PowerPoint.

The type of training Lara has provided has ranged from one to one sessions, groups of up to 10 delegates, to trainer-led demonstrations of software for up to 30 students. She finds the role of trainer thoroughly rewarding and particularly enjoys the "Eureka" moments when a key concept suddenly clicks with the delegates! One of Lara's qualities is her patience and she has trained all levels of personnel from school leavers to managing directors and everyone in between. Her experience allows her to have a flexible training style enabling the courses to be tailored to the client's needs, at a moment's notice if necessary.

Laura is a Fellow of the Institute of Personnel Development. Having 25 years experience in Human Resources, Training, Recruitment, Change Management and business improvement, working at operational and director levels across various market sectors for multi-nationals and local SMEs, Laura knows what clients need.  Before going into Consultancy, she worked for T&N Plc and British Alcan Aluminium Plc, in the manufacturing, engineering and automotive sectors and then worked for The Consumers Association/Which? Magazine.

Laura set-up and ran the HR Consultancy business for PEM, a professional services firm in Cambridge, for 8 years, where she and her team gained extensive knowledge of fast growth start-ups in the Technology sector.She really understands how excellent HR practices add value to a business, whatever its size or strategic aims may be.

Laura's expertise and passion in running business improvement projects (including Kaizen) offers a commercial perspective, a holistic approach to change management and HR, whilst delivering impressive results.

Paul started his working life for a large City firm of stockbrokers, before moving into manufacturing, retail, mobile communications and then later within the Charity sector. He has always worked in a financial environment and specialises in analysing and interpreting the figures to provide maximum benefit for the organisation.Paul started using Excel back in 1980 during his role as a Management Accountant (AAT) and he has used the product extensively since that time.

The knowledge and practical experience Paul built up over the years, coupled with a lack of high level skills by other trainers at the time, influenced Paul to become a training consultant himself in 1994. He now specialises in the financial aspects and best practice of Microsoft Excel. With his skills in the application, up to Visual Basic level, and his logical approach to problems, he has succeeded in helping many clients overcome their challenges with Excel.

Paul has been involved in training and developing applications using Excel for both individuals and groups alike and enjoys the challenge of using his skills and experience to provide solutions for people.  His skills in Excel VBA have significantly improved productivity and efficiency in many organisations.  The aspect he enjoys most is training and his ability to give people the confidence to explore Excel and find simple solutions for everyday tasks is unique. Paul has helped many students over the years become more effective with the application and this is evident by the results he repeatedly attains.

Sandra has been a trainer for over sixteen years.She has been part of many training teams for bespoke systems, where she has led the training as well as writing documentation and reference guides. In recent years, Sandra has concentrated her training on Microsoft Office and has an excellent all-round knowledge of the core packages.

Sandra has not only trained to advanced levels in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, but also conducted one-to-one, desk side troubleshooting sessions for various clients. She has been involved in many roll-outs for corporate clients over the years, conducting seminars and undertaking floor walking, where her quick-thinking and logical approach has benefited users countrywide.

Steve is a successful Field Coach and Learning and Development Trainer with knowledgeable, relevant and practical experience of how demanding, yet rewarding, ethical sales can be. Additionally, he has the skills to create, develop and deliver a wide range of learning, development and coaching interventions.

Having over 13 years' experience within the Learning and Development industry, Steve has worked with clients such as Pfizer, Archimedes, Pharma, Allergan, Prosell, Lloyds Pharmacy, Bayer, Trustwave, Develop to Grow, OBAM, The Richard Clarke Academy, Potential Plus, Dermato Logical, Hands Associates to name but a few.

Vicky has been a software trainer for approximately 15 years, during which time, she has trained on various versions of the Microsoft Office suite. In spite of having an all-round knowledge of Microsoft, she has favoured training on products such as Excel and Access and has built up her knowledge in these areas to an advanced level. She has not only helped people understand the principles of the subject, but also developed programmes for clients in Access, to enable them streamline activities and collate information more efficiently.

The type of training Vicky has been involved in over the years varies from running full day courses on a product, to one hour workshop sessions focussing on a specific area of the application Vicky demonstrates skills of an extremely high standard, not only around the subject matter, but also in communications with use of alternative training methods in addition to standard face-to-face type training. Vicky's practical approach to problems enables her to provide the best solution to meet the needs of her audience every time.

Join the Fairbank Team