Hi! I am Lynn Williams and I am delighted to announce that I am the newest member of the team at Hub International, I cant wait to be reunited with some familiar faces in my new work family!

Here is my career story My working career started over 35 years ago when I started within The Co-Op Supermarkets as a finance clerk, I left this job to have my children. As soon as I was going back to work I realised I wanted to do something totally different from an office environment and of course to fit in with my children, so I got a part time job in a local off sales and I loved it. Very quickly a ending up full time and managing my own store. During my time with Haddow’s and Victoria Wine I had several stores ,and my team and I won regional store of the year which was a fantastic feeling for us all. I eventually moved to multi-site manager the Cluster co-coordination.

One day I was shopping in a large supermarket called Safeway on Anniesland cross. There was just something about the staff members it was at the time when the director Carlos said that shopping should be enjoyable not a chore, and there was a barista stand ,Pizza dough throwing up in the air and several very funky new ideas in the store and these team knew how to entertain and wow the customers, That day I went home and applied. Two Months later I was a management trainee, 6 months training in all department and it was a whirlwind. I met some amazing people and mentors during my store time and I loved the training side of my role . When Morrison took over Safeway everyone was in shock as the were selling off a lot of stores mine being one. Then something that would change and challenge me happened I received a call from Morrison Training Team saying that they had been given my name as someone who had a passion for people and training, at first I was unsure as the head office is in Bradford however they said I could be based in Glasgow so I went for the interview. I stay there for the rest of my career with Morrison, they put me through all my teaching qualification , too many to name compliance qualification and anything that I though could help me become a better trainer , mentor or coach . Our team won several awards for outstanding training and achievements. I covered the whole of Scotland and the North of England . The job was great, however you do get tired living out of Hotels and room service and I had some medical issues that effected my mobility, after 15 years it was time to make a change!

Tennent’s Training Academy I went for a ‘quick chat’ with Steph Wade (which turned into 4 Hrs!) and I was hooked. I had never seen a place like this before that catered for all types of people. I wanted this job, lucky for me Steph wanted me too!  I was looking after Training Compliance as well as delivering a whole host of advanced qualifications, every day was different, the atmosphere was different the team were different, everyone had the same goal making our customer happy and feel comfortable in the training academy, and we were thriving!

The Highlight for the team was when we won the BIIAB Training Award there were a few sore head in the morning after that night, but what an achievement!

I sat some more qualifications in the academy, everyone was encouraged to Learn something new. I even became a qualified Whisky Ambassador! I don’t like Whisky but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. As well as training, I gained an Assessor Qualification, became a Mental Health Trainer and so much more. I also learnt how to make a Pizza, several cocktails and the best Lamb Curry ever ……..Thanks Chef Lauren!

Unfortunately Covid Struck, the Academy had to close and the team were made redundant, I was lucky as I was offered a role in our Head office as Compliance L&D Business partner. My duties here were looking after all Scotsman venues compliance training bookings and looking after our LMS, making sure we stayed within training budgets, I stayed here until end of March 2023.

I am delighted to be joining Hub International, coming back to my Training and Compliance routes and working together again with some of the most passionate trainers I have met, I cant wait to get started and to meet all our my new clients & learners and help they achieve their goals!

To discuss your training needs or to simply say HI! email me at Adminqueen@hi-people.org 

Let’s get ready for take-off!

 

Hi! my name is Linda. I have been working in the world of hospitality since the age of 17. I began my hospitality career

working for Sodexo at the magnificent Hampden Park where I worked my way up to Conference & Banqueting Supervisor and Match Day Manager of the Executive Boxes. Working within in the hospitality team for Sodexo Live! gave me so many fantastic opportunities to work in different venues across the UK, from Perth Racecourse to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

 

In 2014 I decided to travel to Australia for a year where I found myself working in bars, restaurants and not forgetting picking strawberries at on a strawberry farm for 3 months! I fell in love with Australia, the amazing weather mostly and made friends for life along the way.

On my return flight to Glasgow in 2015 I had spoken to the crew about their role as cabin crew and I thought it sounded like the perfect role for me. To combine my two passions, traveling and hospitality. I began applying for Cabin Crew Roles. I attended an Emirates Cabin Crew open day, and only went and got the job! I packed my bags and moved to Dubai.

During my 6 years at Emirates I visited some of the most amazing place around the world. I was part of a highly diverse workforce where crew come together from over 160 nations around the world. We learn from each other and contribute to the astonishing performance of the Airline. After my first year at the airline, I was proud to be awarded an Emirates Brand Ambassador award. Working as a Business Class cabin crew I was able to take my fine dining skills to whole ne
w level (40,000ft to be precise). During my time as cabin crew, I attended College to study Business and HR. I was proud to work for a fantastic employer like Emirates as they had strong focus on their employees learning and development. I am continuing my studies in L&D where I am currently working towards gaining my CIPD L4 Qualification. I hope to support other companies to be able to grow and train their teams as well as I was developed in my career so far.

The hospitality industry allows you to develop yourself – professionally and as a person. Not only do you improve on the professional skills you already possess, but with time and commitment you learn others due to the variety of colleagues, clients and situations that will put you to the test.

Finally, the reason why I love hospitality so much is simple: IT’S FUN! I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and skills I have learned along the way to inspire more people to get into the exciting and rewarding career of hospitality.

I am just getting started in my role and can’t wait to be a part of shaping the hospitality industry to be a better place to work, supporting its people to grow and training the amazing future talent that I have already started to meet.

 

You can contact me on Linda@hi-people.org and say hi!

Linda