The Cell Leader Training Programme started in July 2019 to help prepare our existing Cell Leaders for their crucial contributions to the success of the business. Cell Leaders hold key roles within our business and are responsible for decision making that will enhance our performance and productivity. The business continues to invest in the very best machinery and processes which will enable the Cell Leaders who sit at the heart of our business to improve and develop on this training programme which is an essential investment for our future growth. The aim of the programme is to develop and combine the capabilities and skills of our Cell Leaders to optimise performance and productivity across the group.

The main objectives of the group have been to,

• Develop leadership and management skills of Cell Leaders.
• Understanding the strategy of the business, how it is organised and how it operates.
• Understanding trends and developments in the aerospace industry supply chain.
• Building collaboration and teamwork across the cohort of Cell Leaders.

The programme is lead by the programme facilitator Jennifer Carnegie. Jennifer was a shift manager and industrial engineer for Mars Incorporated, she was responsible for the smooth running of their production lines making pet food. She moved into learning and development and established the Mars University, supporting the training needs of 65,000 people across 160 sites in 70 countries. She is now the director of Ivory, a leadership consultancy, the president of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of the Channel Islands Cooperative Society.

So Far Jennifer has helped the Cell Leads to learn more around group culture, personal behaviors, productivity, presenting, coaching, difficult conversations and much more! But of course Jennifer hasn’t done this alone, she has had a variety of different people to help her on the way. General Sir Peter Wall and Nigel Pitman have been the programme sponsors, sharing their vast knowledge of engineering and leadership. There have also been speakers from different departments such as Yvonne Mullen and Samantha Wedge from Finance, Roger Lucas from HSE, Simon Griffiths-Hughes and James Bishop from Engineering and Planning, Ian Rowe, Jason Davidge and Jordan Darby from Sales (and many more!) Each department sharing their knowledge of the business and how their department operates within it.

Another session will be held on the 6th March where we will look forward to haring from other speakers and learning more. This is the start of a development and training programme which will be rolled out across the group to give all our employees the tools and skills to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Kerry Weaver, Personal Development Manager, FGP Systems Ltd.