Our Teachers - Alison Hales

About this teacher

Following brief experiences in leisure, retail management and chartered accountant training, I settled into a rewarding career in further and higher education colleges. In addition to having experience of managing two very different college departments, my roles included management and delivery of education contracts with public and private organisations including BT, the Professional Footballers Association's ‘Footballers Further Education and Vocational Training Society’, the University of Birmingham and a range of regional sports and leisure providers.

During my career break to have children, I worked for a small private company undertaking education and competence assessment of Chartered Management Institute and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualifications, and undertook voluntary work as treasurer for the North West Twinning Federation and a local NHS breastfeeding support group.

In 2008 I joined the National Health Service (NHS) as Sheffield Primary Care Trust's Principal Education, Training and Development Manager and was TUPE transferred to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2011 as part of the UK's change in health service structures.

From March 2018, I had joint leadership responsibility for the Learning and Development Department of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which has around 18,000 employees across Sheffield's five teaching hospitals and community services. As a senior manager I was responsible for up to 45 department staff, and their performance, consequently developing a great interest in people’s health and wellbeing. My role included collaboration with local and regional education, NHS and voluntary service organisations including being a Governor for Sheffield UTC from 2021-23; leadership of the 'Training For the Future' work stream of the Trust's People Strategy; operational management of a range of services including procurement of STH''s learning management system, delivery of the Trust’s learning needs analysis, funding and study leave application processes, procurement and delivery of apprenticeships and other vocational training, the corporate welcome, mandatory and job specific training, technology enhanced learning and operation of the learning centres. I completed a departmental systematic approach to financial improvement to improve efficiency and instigated systems and processes to streamline data provision for the executive team.

I was made Head of People Development in 2021 and left the organisation in summer 2023 when my post was made redundant, since when I have been taking a career break to enjoy some time with my family.

Academic:

MSc Management and Strategic Leadership - University of Sheffield

RSA Assessor and Internal Verifier Awards

PGCE in Further Adult and Higher Education - University of Wolverhampton

BSc (Hons) Sport Science - Liverpool Polytechnic (LJMU)

Professional:

MBTI Step 2 - The Myers Briggs Company Ltd

Game Changer Index Accreditation – The GC Index

Mental Health First Aid Trainer - First Aid Industry Body

Six Sigma Green Belt - The Knowledge Academy

Project Management - Indigo Business

Microsystem Coach - Sheffield Microsystem Coaching Academy