Our people are at the forefront of everything we do, and to ensure everyone can reach their goals, we continue to invest in our Learning and Development team!
Mike Roberts, our new L&D Manager, joined the business with a wealth of knowledge and is ready to help develop our colleagues.
As it’s World Education Day, we want everyone to get to know him better, so we asked him some questions about himself and the future of L&D at Boughey. Check out the Q&A below!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I’ve been working in the retail and logistics industry my whole life, which, when you see me, you’ll realise is a long time. I’ve always had a keen interest in sport, I manage a men’s football team, having hung my boots up a few years ago. I love rugby, golf, cricket and most sports. I’ve been married to my wife Denise for 32 years and have two wonderful sons and two grandkids.
What inspired you to pursue a career in learning and development?
Having spent many years in shop floor roles, I wanted to try the mythical ‘head office’ roles. So, I started working for the recruitment team at the company I worked for. One thing led to another and after roles in recruitment and quite a few years in HR, I found my calling in L&D.
If you could learn a new skill overnight, what would it be?
The new skill I would learn overnight would be a better memory and to be a bit more organised. I am a lot better than I used to be, but there’s still room for improvement.
How do you see learning and development evolving at Boughey?
Well, prior to me joining the business, we did a lot of training but not much L&D, so that’s the biggest change. We want to try and produce a conveyor belt of managers and leaders coming through the business, we can only do this by investing in our people. We will deliver significant amounts of management development programmes to anybody who wants them, ensuring that if you want to move forward in your career with Boughey, we’ll do our level best to support you.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about learning?
“Give it a go.” A positive mental attitude is often worth more than intellectual prowess. If your attitude is good, you’ve got a fighting chance. I’m living proof of that!
How do you stay up to date with new trends in learning and development?
Keeping your finger on the pulse isn’t always easy. With the advancement of e-learning and AI, L&D is changing, so we’ve got to change and adapt; otherwise, we’ll become extinct. Attending seminars and conventions and liaising with peer groups helps, but keeping an open mind is important too.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Believe in yourself! Having spent more time in school focusing on sport than on education meant that I started full-time employment at 16 – no university for me. So hard work wasn’t always enough; I often felt like this held me back. Turns out it didn’t, so believe in yourself, because if you don’t, how the heck can anyone else?
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your own education and career journey?
Education is a lot harder as an adult! When you’ve got a family and full-time employment, study is hard – but worth it.
