KEY POINTS:
Name: Steve Punter
Role: Managing director of STA Training. Primary roles of trainer, advisor and advocate.
Working hours: 60 to 70 hours per week. Trainer days usually 10 to 12 hours long.
Average pay: Corporate trainer with experience $70,000 plus. Entry level $45,000.
Qualifications: Diploma in Business (Personnel Management & Employment Relations) from Auckland University, National Certificate in Adult Education.
Career prospects: Developing more of a mentoring and advisory role in the wider human resources field; putting something back into the profession
Describe what you do
We create, produce, run and evaluate training programmes that are designed to fit a client brief.
We also offer an 'in-house' human resources adviser service for organisations that are not large enough to justify a full time person. Sometimes we set up that function so that a full timer can be employed, or train someone in-house to take over the role. I write and produce performance management systems and other HR systems. I also act as advisor and advocate in Employment Law issues.
I also address conferences speaking within my areas of specialisation; adult education, employment law, human resources issues and customer service.
What kind of training do you offer?
We train people from junior to senior management in areas such as creating vision, managing change, performance management, employment law, customer service, stress, time management. We take an interactive, humorous approach.
Why did you choose this line of work?
This sounds evangelical but it isn't. I love working with people to help them solve problems so they can work more effectively and manage their staff better. I'm also a bit of an actor - you have to be when you're 'up at the front' every day. I like writing and creating new stuff.
What kind of clients do you have?
Most of our training is for clients with 50-plus staff from the public and private sector, such as the Ministry of Social Development, banks and pharmaceuticals. We also run public workshops for smaller organisation's staff.
Our employment relations work involves large clients that usually have all the resources they need, but may want an external person to handle a job. The employment law stuff is with small-to-medium clients.
What sort of training or experience do you need for this work?
Hands-on management experience for the more environments you've experienced, the better. Tertiary qualifications - specifically in HR or business management or adult learning - are essential if you want to be taken seriously, and recent qualifications are better than the ones you got 25 years ago. You also learn a lot by observing others. I still pick up new ideas by watching others working, as well as reading articles on what works and what doesn't, and listening without prejudice to what others are saying.
Your history?
Luckily, hands-on management experience, including five years with a large team, and 15 years of training experience. I was running a large team of sales managers and the company felt I should learn how to train them - hence I was sent on a Train the Trainer workshop. Over the following 12 months I decided I liked it better than managing.
What skills or qualities do you need?
Patience, a well-honed sense of humour and good sense of self-esteem. Good empathy skills and ability to communicate one-on-one and one to a group. Creative writing. Good desktop publishing skills and all the audio-visual support gear. You also need to be self-motivated.
Best part of the job?
Working with adults who want to learn and explore. Facilitating successful mediations.
Most challenging part?
Dealing with the politically correct. Dealing with people who make a career of sweating the small stuff. Clients who 'send' people on training courses, without asking them whether they want to go and without agreeing to the purpose or desired outcomes. Keeping up with the paperwork.
Advice to someone wanting to do same thing?
Keep your front-of-room skills sharp and tackle each training event as if it was your first and most important one. Respect your clients and give them what they want - don't force them to take what you have. Don't try it if you don't have patience and a sense of humour.
