About Us
Dickson Training Ltd has an amazing pedigree - we have many decades of practical experience in both the commercial and the public sectors between us.
We also have a very highly qualified team of versatile specialists in Leadership & Management training, Coaching and Soft skills Training.
The best asset we have, however, is authenticity.
We are very effective in genuinely understanding the clients' operational and cultural challenges and calibrating the provisions to be the perfect fit.
Our courses are that rare thing - very enjoyable and always very effective. We have a 97% return rate - clients keep inviting us back. That means that we are providing great quality training in a way that clients and their teams really love.
And very importantly - we always make it fun.
We are very proud to introduce to new, prospective, clients one of the very best Training & Coaching teams you'll ever encounter...
Phil Dickson
Founder/Director
Phil has over twenty five years' experience in highly successful Leadership Development, Professional Customer Care; Team Building, Business Coaching and First Line Management training.
His career started with Harper Collins in a production editorial role, which progressed to a position in the sales and marketing operation, receiving Salesperson of the Year Award. This involved orchestrating media promotional activities for authors on radio and TV.. He led many innovative marketing, strategic sales operational initiatives.
Phil became a Director of Associated Training in 1989 and grew the business from a small team delivering to local clients in Yorkshire to a multimillion-pound operation (BLF) based in Nottingham, delivering to global clients in every industry sector.
A key designer of innovative Management, Leadership and Team Development programmes, Phil frequently underpins strategic solutions with in-depth research & interactive blended learning techniques which reflect the core objectives and commercial imperatives.
The key courses Phil is regularly commissioned to design and deliver include: - First Line Manager; Professional Customer Care; ILM Award Level 3 Leadership & Management; Team Development Programmes; Train the Trainer; Dealing with Difficult Situations & Business Coaching.
Phil continues to deliver commercially strategic programmes to national and international clients such as Skanska, Unilever, Allianz, Airbus, BOC and Secret Escapes.
Phil is also a licensed Paradigm psychometric profiler practitioner.
In May 2018 he bought out his co-Director and rebranded the business - Dickson Training Ltd and moved the company to Yorkshire.
He is married with a twenty-six year old daughter.
He reads history and enjoys composing music for the piano.
Julia Belle
Trainer & 'Real Play' Specialist
Julia is a graduate of Politics from Warwick University and speaks French having spent an Erasmus year in Bordeaux as part of her degree.
Julia's background in television, radio; online media and presenting has proven to be an invaluable asset to her training abilities.
She is an energetic trainer with a wealth of experience running team building, customer care, coaching, Presentation skills, EQ/assertiveness courses and Graduate inductions.
The clients she has worked with include Airbus, Allianz, WCPPE, Swale Heating, Ridge Partners, Codeclan, T - Systems and the Met Office.
Having worked for the BBC for 5 years and, as a highly experienced freelance Presenter, she is regularly commissioned in a variety of TV shows, from children's content and Corporate videos to Channel 4 sketch shows.
Julia offers a unique insight to our delegates and has received particularly positive feedback about her ability to instil confidence in people.
She was first commissioned to be a 'Real-play actress' and embody the typical characters that our delegates describe from their daily interactions back in the business.
With her stable of BBC actors, they are regularly involved in supporting Programmes on Coaching skills, Dealing with Difficult issues, Professional Customer Care, First Line Manager and Assertiveness/EQ Courses using the unique & highly effective 'Real Play' technique.
She always receives high praise for being indistinguishable from the real thing.
She is based in London and, at weekends, she produces and co-presents a weekly radio show.
Julia enjoys travel, skiing and developing her own successful Youtube channel -Political Jules.
Harvey Wheaton
Trainer & Business Coach
An Oxford Graduate and highly experienced Agile business leader with 30 years' experience in in a wide variety of industries. An energetic, results-focused and collaborative style with a track record of strategic thinking and operational delivery in a range of complex, fast paced environments.
Harvey is a very highly qualified Trainer and Executive coach, having designed and delivered very complex Programmes within his career and as a Trainer/Coach. These include First Line Management and ILM Award Level 3 Leadership & Management courses.
His glittering career informs his ability to design and deliver very effective courses and provide practical support as an Executive Coach.
He is an Agile Consultant and Coach having worked with a wide variety of clients This included a significant transformation programme at a large financial institution (Bloomberg), major games studios around the world (e.g. Rovio, Microsoft, Ubisoft), advising start-up companies and working with Kingston and Falmouth universities to define and support their digital skills curriculum.
Harvey is currently an Executive Producer at Natural Motion, taking this senior leadership position in a time of transformational change for this business. The role is a mixture of strategic business leadership, operational management and people development across two locations.
Prior to this he was CEO of CodeClan, which was established with support from Scottish Government to create opportunities for career changers who might not otherwise find a route into digital jobs. As CEO of this start-up organization, his focus was on developing the business strategy, building the team and culture, establishing a strong operational platform with defined KPIs, getting their core product tuned to market needs and refining their financial model to create a profitable and sustainable business. In the first two years of operation Codeclan trained over 250 people and placed 90% into entry-level software development jobs.
Harvey was a Senior Development Director on the Harry Potter franchise for Electronic Arts and subsequently COO at Criterion Games, managing large, multi-disciplinary development teams (100+ people) to deliver multiple console games to fixed deadlines in a highly complex, multi-disciplinary development environment.
Prior to that he was Program Manager/Business Operations Manager at JP Morgan - a member of the original management team playing a key part in the start-up and rapid expansion of JP Morgan's newly founded European Technology Centre.
His earlier career included several years at Cap Gemini where assignments included leading a team of consultants in a complex, multi-partner environment managing the testing and implementation of a new core banking system for Band of Scotland's international business. As a Senior Consultant he was involved in bidding for new work and client account management.
His skills and strengths include:
Leadership
He has the proven skills and experience to build, maintain and motivate highly effective organisations and teams. Harvey is results focused, keeping the end goal in mind and a believer in 'situational leadership', adapting his style to suit each situation and team. He brings his extensive experience and skills to the delivery of ILM Award Level 3 accredited Leadership & Management; First Line Management & Coaching training courses.
Strategic Planning and Execution
He is highly experienced in Agile approaches to planning and execution, focusing on frequent and regular delivery of customer value.
Coaching and People Development
Harvey has been involved extensively in coaching and mentoring throughout his management career and has been working with many clients and organisations over the last few years as an Agile coach.
Project Management
He has experience of a wide variety of project management methodologies with a passion for Agile but the pragmatism to value a tailored approach depending on the situation.
Louise Worsley
Senior Training Consultant & Coach
Louise's global experience of working with clients in both the Corporate and Not for Profit sectors such as - Deutsche Bank, Sodexo, Astra Zeneca, IKEA, Kantar, Elanco Health, NHS trust, LSE, Oxford Brookes, The Carbon Trust and The Prince's Trust.
This has enabled her to be innovative and creative in supporting the development of individuals, teams and organisations that want to succeed.
Post a successful teaching career, Louise has delivered training and coaching at all organisational levels with her key area of expertise being sustainable learning in dynamic environments that are or need to change. Her intuitive, energetic and engaging manner allows clear communication with all ages and levels of seniority, to help them to set, achieve and exceed clear pre-determined goals.
Louise is a natural leader, demonstrating leadership capabilities in many challenging and pressurised environments, having lead various very successful expeditions including in South America.
She has been described by clients as inspiring, reliable, trusted, honest, patient, fun and friendly, with a relaxed and clear business-like approach.
Linda Chander
Business Training Consultant and Executive Coach
Linda has over 19 years experience as a facilitator and as an adult educator. She has guided many individuals and workgroups in the development of various workplace skills, and currently coaches and mentors several individuals, including senior executives, in a variety of industries.
Linda has gained her experience and skills from working in and with a range of different organisations in both the private and public sectors including Finance, Education, Banking, Professional Services, Infrastructure, Health, Telecommunications, Project Management and Construction.
She has international experience working with clients in New Zealand, Malaysia, Ireland, India and the United Kingdom.
Linda is among the preferred providers of soft skills training to many significant organisations, universities and professional services firms in Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Areas of expertise: Consultancy, Coaching, Performance Management, Leadership & Management Skills, Developing Administrative Support Staff, Assertive Behaviour, Conducting a Training Needs Analysis, Train the Trainer, Communication Skills, Building Business Relationships, Dealing With Difficult People, Time Management, Negotiation Skills, Managing Conflict, Managing Change, Professional Presentation Skills, and Personality and Psychometric testing (MBTI).
Liz Dickson
Company Secretary
After graduating from Glasgow University with a Master of Arts degree in Languages (French & Italian) Liz lived & worked in Switzerland (where she learnt German) and Australia for 4 years before settling back in the UK.
She was the HR Manager for the Support teams in the Leeds Office of Price Waterhouse for 5 years and oversaw some major projects involving Appraisal systems, new technology and Inductions programmes.
Following her maternity leave she joined Coopers & Lybrand's Corporate Finance team and the HR department. Her role encompassed Graduate Recruitment and managing training projects.
Three years later Liz moved on to become a Secondary School teacher of Languages (French & German) and, after a few years of contract work, she was employed by one of her 'client' schools to be a full time Languages Teacher - regularly attaining the highest Ofsted status of - 'Outstanding'.
When Dickson Training Ltd was founded, she was appointed Company Secretary.
Liz also enjoys travel and skiing.